★Historically significant

Observation made by a NASA astronaut during a Project Mercury orbital mission in 1962, representing one of the earliest UAP-adjacent reports made by a U.S. government pilot in space, though the phenomenon is likely attributable to spacecraft-generated ice particles.

NASA-UAP-D013, Mercury Atlas 7, May 24, 1962

Department of WarVideoIncident ReportNo redactionsPURSUE Release 1

4/10

niche or mildly interesting

UAP Insight significance score

Location: Low Earth Orbit
Incident date: 5/24/62
Witnesses: Single witness
Released: May 22, 2026

UAP Characteristics

? Unknown shapeErratic movementHypersonic speed

Evidence Types

Testimony

Government Programs Referenced

Project Mercury

Official Description

During the fourth crewed spaceflight and second orbital flight of Project Mercury, Mercury-Atlas 7 (MA-7), Aurora 7 pilot Scott Carpenter describes white particles in view that appear to move at “random” and “look exactly like snowflakes.” He describes these phenomena as reflective, and that some seemed to move faster than the Aurora 7 spacecraft.

Key Findings

→Astronaut Scott Carpenter reported observing white, reflective particles outside the Aurora 7 spacecraft during low Earth orbit on May 24, 1962.
→Carpenter described the particles as looking 'exactly like snowflakes' and moving in a 'random' pattern.
→Some of the observed particles appeared to move faster than the Aurora 7 spacecraft itself, suggesting they were not simply debris shed by the vehicle.
→The particles were described as reflective in nature.
→This observation is similar in character to the 'fireflies' reported by John Glenn on the preceding Mercury-Atlas 6 mission.

UAP Insight Analysis— AI generated, not official

This document describes an observation made by astronaut Scott Carpenter during the Mercury-Atlas 7 (MA-7) Aurora 7 mission on May 24, 1962. Carpenter reported seeing white, reflective particles outside the spacecraft that he described as resembling snowflakes and moving in apparently random patterns, with some appearing to move faster than the spacecraft itself. The observation was made during low Earth orbit on the fourth crewed spaceflight of Project Mercury.

Analyst Notes

Single-witness visual observation only, with no sensor corroboration described. The 'snowflake' particles reported by Carpenter have a widely accepted mundane explanation: frozen water vapor or ice crystals venting from the spacecraft's environmental control or thruster systems. John Glenn reported a similar phenomenon on MA-6, later attributed to spacecraft-generated ice particles. No extraordinary explanation is required by the available evidence.

Extracted Entities

People

Scott Carpenter

Agencies & Organizations

NASADepartment of War

Locations

Low Earth Orbit

Aircraft & Objects

Aurora 7 spacecraft (Mercury-Atlas 7)White reflective particles described as resembling snowflakes

Dates

May 24, 1962

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AI analysis by claude-sonnet-4-6 · July 20, 2026