Apollo 12 Astronaut Wondered If Particles Were Escaping the Moon

Alan Bean peered through a small telescope aboard Apollo 12. On the Moon’s dark side, he saw flashes of light and particles drifting through space.

The particles seemed to emerge from behind the spacecraft and fly toward the stars. Bean wondered whether they were falling from a water device aboard the spacecraft, but said some appeared to be escaping from the Moon. Hours later, the crew saw fragments floating near the spacecraft, and the light illuminating them became a mystery of its own.

Particles Flying Toward the Stars

Bean described what he saw in a radio conversation with Mission Control. Looking through the telescope at the Moon’s dark side, he saw points of light and particles moving through space. They came from behind him, he said, and continued at speed toward the stars.

Bean suggested the particles might be falling from the spacecraft’s water device. But some looked as if they were leaving the Moon. He did not say they were a large object or a spacecraft, and he could not explain what he had seen.

The Light Worked—Then Went Out

Several hours later, mission commander Charles Conrad reported small fragments floating outside the spacecraft. During an earlier pass, the spacecraft’s tracking light had flashed on them. The light was meant to help identify the spacecraft.

On the next pass, Conrad could no longer see the fragments lit up. He thought the tracking light had burned out. But Mission Control said an electrical check showed it was still working.

Conrad replied that he had just turned the light off. Mission Control checked again, and this time the test showed the light was off. That ended the conversation about the light; the fragments remained outside the spacecraft.

What Remains Unknown

The transcript does not identify the particles, flashes, or floating fragments. The water device is the only ordinary explanation mentioned, but Bean did not say it was the source of the particles. The source material offers no later explanation for the sightings.

Bean saw points of light disappear toward the stars. No one in the conversation could say where they came from.