NASA1973PURSUE Release 01 (May 2026)

NASA-UAP-D5, Apollo 17 Crew Debriefing for Science, 1973

Summary

This report from the Apollo 17 Crew Debriefing for Science, produced by NASA on January 8, 1973, details unexpected findings from the mission. Dick Henry, a co-investigator, discusses the observation of an unanticipated X-ray background over the sky, which was a significant result in the field of X-ray astronomy.

Key highlights

The crew discussed the absence of expected Lyman-alpha radiation.p.2
“We looked for Lyman-alpha radiation, red shifted from the ionized hydrogen, and we didn't see any.”
They noted an unexpected X-ray background in the sky.p.2
“an X-ray background was observed over the sky that nobody had expected.”
The crew speculated on the nature of light observed from high galactic latitudes.p.3
“the most conservative interpretation, I think, is that what we're seeing is light from hot stars.”
They collected extensive data on hydrogen in the solar system.p.3
“We obtained Just an enormous amount of data on the Apollo that's going to straighten out this picture.”
The crew analyzed the spectrum of Earth from space.p.3
“We looked at the Earth from outside.”

Source

Department of War — PURSUE / NASA
Public domain (US Government work)
No known restrictions

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