Apollo 17 Technical Crew Debriefing, 1973
- Date
- Jan 1973
- Place
- Reentry/recovery and transearth coast
- Record
- Pentagon file
- Assessment
- Not assessed
- Evidence strength
What was reported
A 2-page excerpt of the Apollo 17 technical debrief. Evans describes a 'tunnel with a bright spot' visual effect while watching the fading reentry fireball; the crew jokes about mistaking an aircraft carrier's superstructure for 'a tin can.' Schmitt confirms the crew had light flashes 'just about continuously' during dark-adapted periods of the flight, including one he thought was a flash on the lunar surface (corroborating the Grimaldi-area flash reported in NASA-UAP-D002), and notes flashes were not reported during the blindfolded ALFMED experiment interval but resumed that same night.
What officials concluded
No conclusion stated
No formal explanation offered in this excerpt for the light-flash phenomenon, though it is treated by the crew as a known, recurring, physiological-seeming effect (cross-referenced to the ALFMED cosmic-ray experiment).
- Agency
- NASA
- Released in
- 123456
Evidence profile
- Yes: Visual
- No: Infrared
- No: Radar
- No: Video
- No: Photo
- No: 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
- No: Astronaut
- No: Intelligence official
- Yes: Other
- No: 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 Corroborates a well-documented recurring phenomenon (cosmic-ray light flashes, studied via the ALFMED experiment) and a single naked-eye lunar-surface flash with no independent confirmation.
As described in the file
- Witnesses
- Ronald Evans (CMP), Eugene Cernan (CDR), Harrison Schmitt (LMP)
- Sensors
- Visual
- Duration
- Light flashes continuous during dark-adapted periods across most of the flight
Pentagon files
Apollo 17 Technical Crew Debriefing, 1973
Open the original on war.gov
What the file claims
- Unverified
Schmitt reported near-continuous light flashes during dark-adapted periods throughout the flight, including one he believed was a flash on the lunar surface.