Pentagon’s new UFO files reveal Apollo 17 astronauts saw ‘Fourth of July’ lights near the moon

More than 50 years after NASA’s Apollo 17 mission, newly released Pentagon disclosure files are shedding fresh light on strange sightings reported by astronauts during their historic journey to the moon. The documents include descriptions of flashing lights, drifting objects and mysterious formations seen in space.


The files, released Friday as part of the Pentagon’s growing archive on unidentified anomalous phenomena, have reignited public fascination with UFO sightings tied to NASA missions. The reports also include comments from Apollo 11, Apollo 12 and Gemini VII astronauts who described unusual objects and unexplained lights during spaceflight.


For decades, Apollo 17 has been remembered as the final crewed moon landing mission in NASA history. But according to newly released Pentagon records, the astronauts may have experienced far more than lunar exploration during their 1972 mission.

Among the newly declassified files is a NASA image showing “three ‘dots’ in a triangular formation in the lower right quadrant of the lunar sky.” According to the Defense Department, the anomaly becomes clearer when the image is magnified.

The Pentagon stated that “there is no consensus about the nature of the anomaly,” though a preliminary government analysis suggested the formation could potentially be a “physical object.”

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What Did Apollo 17 Astronauts Report Seeing?

The released transcripts contain several striking observations made by the Apollo 17 crew during the mission.
Pilot Ronald Evans described seeing “very bright particles or fragments or something” drifting nearby while the spacecraft maneuvered in space.

“Now we've got a few very bright particles or fragments or something that go drifting by as we maneuver,” Evans said in the transcript.

Fellow astronaut Harrison Schmitt compared the strange visuals to fireworks. “There's a whole bunch of big ones on my window down there — just bright. It looks like the Fourth of July out of Ron's window,” Schmitt reported.

Mission commander Eugene Cernan also described unusual flashing lights while trying to sleep during the mission. According to Pentagon records, he observed flashing and rotating phenomena over several hours that appeared to correspond with physical objects in space. Cernan reportedly compared one bright flash to an “imposing” train headlight, as per a report by USA Today and CBS News.

"Over the next three hours, Cernan described observing several flashing, rotating phenomenon that he assessed as corresponding to physical objects in space rather than a purely optical phenomenon," Pentagon reports.

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Why Are The Pentagon’s UFO Files Getting Attention?

The files were released as part of a new Pentagon website dedicated to declassified UAP records. The term UAP, or unidentified anomalous phenomena, is now commonly used instead of UFO. The release follows growing public interest in government transparency surrounding unexplained aerial and space sightings. According to the Pentagon, more files and videos will continue to be published over time. The newly released records also included transcripts connected to earlier NASA missions, as per a report by USA Today and CBS News.

What Did Apollo 11 And Other Missions Report?

Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin described seeing unusual objects during the crew’s return journey from the moon in 1969.

“The first unusual thing that we saw I guess was one day out or something pretty close to the moon. It had a sizeable dimension to it, so we put the monocular on it,” Aldrin said in the transcript. He also described flashes of light inside the spacecraft cabin while trying to sleep.

“I was trying to go to sleep with all the lights out. I observed what I thought were little flashes inside the cabin, spaced a couple of minutes apart,” Aldrin explained.

The Pentagon files additionally include records from Apollo 12, where astronauts reported floating debris, flashes and particles outside the lunar module.

Gemini VII documents from 1965 also detail unusual sightings. Astronaut Frank Borman reportedly observed a “bogey” and debris field, while Jim Lovell described a “brilliant body in the sun against a black background with trillions of particles on it.”

One handwritten note attached to the Gemini VII files even included the phrase “UFO Sighting by Borman.”


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Could There Be An Explanation For The Sightings?

Some astronauts reportedly speculated that parts of the strange activity may have been linked to separated stages of the Saturn V rocket used during lunar missions. Still, the Pentagon acknowledged that some images and observations remain unexplained, as per a report by USA Today and CBS News.

The Apollo 17 photograph featuring the triangular formation is now reportedly under further government analysis, though officials stressed there is currently no definitive conclusion about what appears in the image.
The disclosure files were released through documents from NASA, the White House, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office.

As interest in UFOs and unexplained space phenomena continues to grow, the newly revealed Apollo mission accounts are once again placing NASA’s moon missions at the center of one of the world’s most enduring mysteries.

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FAQs

What did Apollo 17 astronauts reportedly see?
The crew described bright flashes, drifting particles and lights that looked “like the Fourth of July.”

Did the Pentagon confirm the objects were UFOs?
No. The Pentagon said there is “no consensus” about the nature of the anomaly.