NASA-UAP-D027, Apollo 14 Debriefing (Continued), 1971

Official Conclusion

Light flashes perceived by astronauts are caused by high-energy cosmic rays passing through the eye and striking the retina — a biological phenomenon, not an anomalous external object.

Official Description

This file contains segment 2 of 2 of the Apollo 14 post-mission crew debriefing at the Manned Spacecraft Center (now Johnson Space Center), Houston, Texas. In this continued segment, crew members and debriefers further discuss the “light flash phenomena,” a then novel, now well-documented biological effect where high-energy cosmic rays pass through the eye and strike the retina, causing the perception of light streaks or flashes.

Key Findings

• →The Apollo 14 crew debriefing segment 2 of 2 focuses on crew-reported perceptions of light flashes during the mission.
• →The 'light flash phenomena' is identified as a biological effect caused by high-energy cosmic rays passing through the eye and striking the retina.
• →The phenomenon was considered novel at the time of the 1971 debriefing but is now well-documented in spaceflight medicine.
• →The debriefing was conducted at the Manned Spacecraft Center (now Johnson Space Center) in Houston, Texas.

Extracted Entities