Apollo 17 Transcript, 1972
- Date
- Dec 1972
- Place
- Cislunar space
- Record
- Pentagon file
- Assessment
- Not assessed
- Evidence strength
What was reported
A 16-page excerpt of the Apollo 17 air-to-ground transcript spanning translunar coast and lunar orbit. It records: (1) the well-known S-IVB fragment field seen after the S-IVB maneuver, described and photographed by the crew and self-attributed to ice or paint chips; (2) Cernan's report of bright flashes seen with eyes closed while trying to sleep, later recognized (per published NASA research, not stated in this file) as the cosmic-ray-induced retinal phenomenon; (3) a rhythmically flashing 'bright object' Cernan tracked and asked Houston to help locate optically, which the crew itself identifies mid-conversation as the tumbling S-IVB stage reflecting sunlight off its engine bell.
What officials concluded
Resolved
The crew self-identifies the tracked flashing object as the S-IVB stage and engine bell, and attributes the fragment field to paint or ice chips from the S-IVB/spacecraft.
- Agency
- NASA
- Released in
- 123456
Evidence profile
- Yes: Visual
- No: Infrared
- No: Radar
- No: Video
- Yes: Photo
- Yes: Film
- No: Audio
- No: Night vision
- No: Other sensor
- No: Civilian
- No: Military aircrew
- No: Military ground
- No: Airline crew
- No: Sensor operator
- No: Law enforcement
- No: Scientist
- Yes: Astronaut
- No: Intelligence official
- No: Other
- Yes: Light only
- No: Orb or sphere
- No: Disc
- No: Triangle
- No: Cylinder
- No: Cube
- No: Other shape
- No: Physiological
- No: Physical trace
- No: Electromagnetic
- No: Sound
- No: Silent
Why this rating The two headline phenomena (fragment field, tracked flashing object) are resolved within the transcript itself as spacecraft debris and the S-IVB stage. Cernan's cosmic-ray light flashes and Schmitt's lunar-surface flash are recognized phenomena (cosmic-ray retinal interaction; possible meteoroid-impact flash, a cataloged transient lunar phenomenon) but are single-witness, naked-eye, momentary observations with no follow-up confirmation recorded in this file.
As described in the file
- Witnesses
- Eugene Cernan (CDR), Ronald Evans (CMP), Harrison Schmitt (LMP) - all NASA astronauts
- Sensors
- Visual, photography (still and reported movie footage)
- Shape
- Fragments described as flat, flakelike, jagged and angular; the tracked 'bright object' undetermined shape
- Size
- Fragments up to about 6 inches across, per Cernan's estimate
- Lights and colour
- Bright reflective particles; the tracked object alternated bright and dull flashes
- Motion
- Fragment field essentially static after the maneuver except slow tumbling; the tracked object rotating rhythmically
- Duration
- Fragment observation ongoing for tens of minutes; the tracked-object episode roughly 10-15 minutes across several radio exchanges
- Altitude or range
- The tracked object estimated 10-12 Earth diameters away by Cernan
Pentagon files
Apollo 17 Transcript, 1972
Open the original on war.gov
What the file claims
- Unverified
Cernan initially insisted the tracked object was 'definitely not' one of the nearby particles and was 'something physical in the distance,' before Schmitt identified it as the S-IVB engine bell.
- Unverified
Cernan reported bright flashes seen with his eyes closed while trying to sleep, including a very bright flash between his eyes like a train headlight, and lit-up-horizon flashes on a later night.
- Unverified
Schmitt (LMP) reported a bright flash on the lunar surface near the crater Grimaldi and asked Houston to check seismometer data, suggesting a possible small impact.