Two Astronauts Saw Snowlike Objects and Glittering Fragments in Space

Two astronauts returned from a space mission with an unusual sight to describe: debris, objects that looked like snow, and glittering fragments. Their account left one question unanswered: What exactly had they seen?

The account appears in a conversation in which the spacecraft crew discussed the mission. The transcript records what they said but does not identify the objects they described. We know how they looked to the astronauts, not what they were.

A Postflight Conversation

In 1965, Gordon Cooper and Charles “Pete” Conrad flew on the Gemini 5 mission. After the flight, between late August and early September, they discussed the mission at a NASA debriefing at Cape Kennedy, Florida. A debriefing is a conversation in which crew members review what happened during a mission.

The account appears in the section on things they saw. The initial transcript was prepared from recordings of the crew. In this section, they described debris and “snow,” as well as various kinds of glittering fragments.

What the Description Leaves Out

The word “snow” conjures an easy-to-picture scene: objects that looked like flakes to the astronauts. They also described glittering fragments. The account is vivid, but it doesn’t say whether the objects were large or small, how many there were, or where they came from.

They did not clearly identify what they had seen. The transcript doesn’t connect the sight to any particular object, either. What remains is a description of something seen in space, not an answer about its origin.

What We Still Don’t Know

The transcript doesn’t explain what the glittering objects were or where they came from. It offers no hypothesis or conventional explanation that can be tested against the description.

Glittering fragments, like snow: those are the words that remain. What passed by the spacecraft windows?