Apollo 17 Transcript 1972

Summary

Sixteen-page NASA air-to-ground transcript from Apollo 17, doc number NASA-UAP-D002, released in batch R1 on 2026-05-08. The dialogue, among Houston and crew members identified as Gene, Jack, Bob, and Ron, centers on a field of bright, jagged, angular fragments drifting near the spacecraft after S-IVB separation, which the crew speculates could be ice chunks or paint peeling from the S-IVB. The fragments are described as flat, flake-like particles up to six inches across that twinkle with no apparent relative motion, and they are photographed. Later passages record a bright flash on the lunar surface north of Grimaldi, repeated observations of the flashing S-IVB, and one crew member's account of bright streaks and a headlight-like flash seen while trying to sleep. Weather patterns and a football score also appear.