UFOs Spotted During Apollo Moon Landings? ... U.S. Releases Trove of Classified Files

Photos and Testimonies from Apollo 11, 12, and 17 Astronauts

"Unresolved Cases Without a Final Government Determination"

The U.S. government has released its "Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) files." However, this does not mean that the existence of extraterrestrial life has been officially confirmed; rather, the files are materials on which no final judgment can be made.

Unidentified phenomenon captured on the lunar surface by Apollo 12. U.S. Department of Defense website

On May 8 (local time), the U.S. Department of Defense (formerly the Department of War) released 161 files and photographic materials related to "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena" (UAP) on its website. The Department of Defense stated, "This is the first release under the President's Disclosure and Reporting System for UAP Encounters, as directed by the President," adding, "These are 'unresolved cases' for which the government has not been able to make a final determination about the nature of the observed phenomena." The department further explained, "Due to reasons such as lack of data, a clear conclusion could not be reached, so these are distinguished from 'resolved cases,' which are subject to separate legal reporting requirements."

The materials released on the website include photos collected from 1966 to the present. In particular, astronauts participating in the U.S. manned lunar exploration project, the Apollo missions, reported witnessing strange phenomena. The Apollo 11 astronauts, who achieved the first human landing on the moon, reported seeing a sizable object as they approached the moon and witnessing flashes appearing at intervals of several minutes on the lunar surface.

Unidentified phenomenon captured on the lunar surface by Apollo 17. U.S. Department of Defense website

When the Apollo 12 astronauts looked at the lunar surface from their landing site, a vertically-shaped unidentified object was captured above the horizon. There is also a photograph from when Apollo 17 landed on the moon in 1972, which shows three luminous objects above the surface.

In addition, the release includes testimonies from people who claimed to have seen UFOs, as well as objects presumed to be UFOs that were captured during military reconnaissance missions around the world. The Department of Defense explained that, in cooperation with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), it reviewed and declassified tens of millions of records accumulated over several decades. Due to the sheer volume of files, additional releases are expected at intervals over the coming weeks.

In 2024, the United States Indo-Pacific Command captured an unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) shaped like an American football over Japanese airspace. Department of Defense website.

Meanwhile, this release of materials was carried out in accordance with the directive issued last February by U.S. President Donald Trump. This directive followed immediately after a podcast interview by former U.S. President Barack Obama in which he stated, "Aliens exist." At the time, President Trump criticized Obama, claiming he had "leaked classified information."

Subsequently, on April 17, President Trump stated at a Turning Point USA event held in Arizona, "We have discovered many very interesting documents," adding, "When the first release begins soon, you will be able to verify for yourselves whether the phenomena are real." Later, on April 29, at an event where astronauts who had boarded the crewed lunar mission Artemis II were invited, Trump said, "We plan to release as many of the UFO-related files as possible in the near future." He added, "People want to know about UFOs or anything related to them. We plan to release much of what we have, and I think it will be very interesting."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.