NASA-UAP-D5: Apollo 17 Crew Debriefing for Science (1973)
Date
January 8, 1973
Document Type
Mission Debriefing
Authentication
VerifiedRedaction Status
✓ Fully ReleasedIssuing Authority
NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas
Summary
The Apollo 17 Crew Debriefing for Science (MSC-07632), conducted January 8, 1973 at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas. The document records scientific findings from the Apollo 17 mission's astronomy experiments, delivered by mission scientists identified as "HENRY." Key findings include anomalous UV background radiation detected at the galactic poles that exceeded expected levels and exhibited spectral characteristics inconsistent with known hot-star reflection models, raising the possibility of extragalactic radiation origin. Additional topics include constraints on the Coma galaxy cluster mass problem (an early dark matter precursor observation), Lyman-alpha interstellar hydrogen streaming through the solar system, and Earth's UV spectrum observed from outside the atmosphere. Released via PURSUE Release 1 as part of NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman's archival UAP materials batch, February 25, 2026.
Significance
Documents NASA astronauts and mission scientists reporting an anomalous UV radiation background at galactic poles detected during the Apollo 17 mission - a spectral observation for which the standard hot-star reflection explanation "doesn't fit," leaving extragalactic radiation as a possible interpretation. While primarily a scientific debriefing, the PURSUE inclusion designates these unexplained astronomical observations as falling within NASA's formal UAP research mandate. Also contains an early observational constraint on the Coma cluster dark matter problem - the mystery of what holds galaxy clusters together - reported from direct UV observation during Apollo 17.