Multi-Release · U.S. Department of War
PURSUE Declassified Archive
The Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters — a rolling declassification series from the U.S. Department of War. The archive includes the FBI 62-HQ-83894 case file, NASA Apollo / Mercury audio and lunar photography, DoE and CIA / ODNI records, and unresolved infrared sensor footage from CENTCOM, EUCOM, INDOPACOM, AFRICOM, and NORTHCOM. Originally released at war.gov/UFO.
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Showing 7 of 222 records.
Released May 22, 2026 · U.S. Department of War
7 records in this release
AUDIONASA · North Atlantic Ocean
NASA-UAP-D014, Mercury-Redstone 4, July 21, 1961
During the recovery of the fourth launch and second crewed spaceflight of Project Mercury, Mercury-Redstone 4 (MR-4) Liberty Bell 7, the recovery team discusses a dye pack in the water that did not activate.
AUDIONASA · Low Earth Orbit
NASA-UAP-D013, Mercury Atlas 7, May 24, 1962
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.
AUDIONASA · Low Earth Orbit
NASA-UAP-D012, Mercury Atlas 8 Audio Excerpt, October 3, 1962
During the Mercury Atlas 8 mission, Sigma 7 pilot Walter M. “Wally” Schirra Jr. describes observing “little white objects that tend to come from the capsule itself and drift off.” Schirra later also refers to those objects as “particles” and “lathe shavings.” Schirra also describes seeing a burst of light in the window, whose source he cannot identify. He speculates that his observation corresponds with the moment the sun passes below the horizon during sunset.
AUDIONASA · Low Earth Orbit
NASA-UAP-D011, Mercury Atlas 9 Audio Excerpt, May 15, 1963
During the final and longest flight of Project Mercury, Mercury-Atlas 9 mission (MA-9) Faith 7 Pilot L. Gordon Cooper Jr. describes the brilliant blue of sunrise beneath the haze layer of the Earth’s atmosphere. As he approaches sunrise, he describes small, luminous, brilliant white particles drifting away from the spacecraft. Cooper describes observing “fireflies” after deploying beacons, which are spherical mission-related equipment with xenon strobe lights.
AUDIONASA · Low Earth Orbit
NASA-UAP-D010, Mercury Atlas 9 Audio Excerpt, May 15, 1963
Approximately one hour and 41 minutes into the final and longest flight of Project Mercury, Mercury-Atlas 9 mission (MA-9) Faith 7 Pilot L. Gordon Cooper Jr. notes that he sees “John’s fireflies,” referring to John Glenn’s term from the Mercury-Atlas 6 mission. NASA later determined that the “fireflies” are attributable to frozen condensation separating from the spacecraft body. The white, green-hued appearance of this phenomenon results from sunlight reflecting off frozen condensation.
AUDIONASA · Cislunar Space
NASA-UAP-D009, Apollo 17 Audio Excerpt, December 7, 1972
During the eleventh and final crewed mission in the Apollo program, Apollo 17 Commander Gene Cernan, Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, and Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans report seeing small lights outside the Apollo spacecraft during transit to the moon. The crew describe bright “particles” or “fragments” as being “jagged,” “angular,” and drifting near the Apollo spacecraft and the separated Saturn S-IVB stage. The Apollo 17 crew speculate that paint chips or ice chips are likely the source of these lights and note that they “twinkle” and move away from the Saturn S-IVB stage.
AUDIONASA · Texas
NASA-UAP-D008, Apollo 12 Medical Debriefing - Tape 12, 1969
During a medical debriefing of the crew of the Apollo 12 mission, Commander Charles “Pete” Conrad, Command Module Pilot Richard “Dick” F. Gordon, and Lunar Module Pilot Alan L. Bean describe their observations of instances of light flashes or “streaks of lights.” The astronauts each reported that these experiences occurred in the dark as they tried to sleep. The NASA medical team considered whether similar phenomena reported by Apollo 11 Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin had been attributable to exposure of the retina by cosmic rays. NASA later determined that the phenomena reported by the Apollo 12 flight crew were internal to the astronauts’ vision rather than external light sources.