UFO files reveal astronauts saw mysterious objects and lights in 1972

U.S. UFO files reveal Apollo 17 crew saw mysterious objects and lights during 1972 mission: "Looks like the Fourth of July" By Stephen Smith Stephen Smith Managing Editor Stephen Smith is a managing editor for CBSNews.com based in New York. A Washington, D.C. native, Steve was previously an editorial producer for the Washington Post, and has also worked in Los Angeles, Boston and Tokyo. Read Full Bio Stephen Smith May 8, 2026 / 12:56 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Over half a century ago, NASA's Apollo 17 crew reported seeing multiple unidentified objects in space, including three mysterious dots and sparks that resembled fireworks, according to new files released by the Pentagon.The details were among the more than 100 documents made public on Friday when the Defense Department unveiled a new website housing all the declassified UAP (unidentified anomalous phenomena).A NASA photograph, taken in December 1972 during from the Apollo 17 mission, "contains three 'dots' in a triangular formation in the lower right quadrant of the lunar sky that is clearly visible upon magnification of the image," the Defense Department said in a caption of the image.The Pentagon said that "there is no consensus about the nature of the anomaly," but that a new, preliminary analysis indicated it could be a "physical object." NASA's Apollo 17 crew reported seeing bright tumbling sparks and jagged fragments that resembled fireworks, according to documents released by the Pentagon on May 8, 2026. Pentagon The last men to walk on the moon also reported seeing bright tumbling sparks and jagged fragments that resembled fireworks."Now we've got a few very bright particles or fragments or something that go drifting by as we maneuver," pilot Ronald Evans said, according to the transcript released by the Pentagon.Pilot Harrison Schmitt reported: "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." Meanwhile,...