NASA-UAP-D010, Mercury Atlas 9 Audio Excerpt, May 15, 1963

Official Conclusion

NASA determined the 'fireflies' observed by Cooper were frozen condensation particles separating from the spacecraft body, with their white and green-hued appearance resulting from sunlight reflection.

Official Description

Approximately one hour and 41 minutes into the final and longest flight of Project Mercury, Mercury-Atlas 9 mission (MA-9) Faith 7 Pilot L. Gordon Cooper Jr. notes that he sees “John’s fireflies,” referring to John Glenn’s term from the Mercury-Atlas 6 mission. NASA later determined that the “fireflies” are attributable to frozen condensation separating from the spacecraft body. The white, green-hued appearance of this phenomenon results from sunlight reflecting off frozen condensation.

Key Findings

• →Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr. observed luminous particles approximately 1 hour and 41 minutes into the MA-9 Faith 7 mission in low Earth orbit on May 15, 1963.
• →Cooper referred to the observed phenomenon as 'John's fireflies,' linking it to a similar observation made by John Glenn during the Mercury-Atlas 6 mission.
• →The particles exhibited a white, green-hued luminous appearance consistent with sunlight reflecting off frozen condensation.
• →NASA officially determined the phenomenon was caused by frozen condensation separating from the spacecraft body, not an anomalous or unidentified object.
• →The MA-9 mission was the final and longest flight of Project Mercury.

Extracted Entities