The Department of War released previously classified UFO-related documents Friday under an order issued by President Donald Trump, making photographs, videos and mission records publicly available through a new government website.
Officials said the newly created online archive contains declassified files involving unidentified anomalous phenomena, also known as UAPs, gathered from agencies across the federal government over several decades.
According to reports, the release includes photographs and audio recordings connected to the Apollo 12 and Apollo 17 moon missions conducted during the US space program in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Some of the released audio recordings captured astronauts discussing unusual objects and bright fragments visible outside spacecraft windows while maneuvering during lunar missions.
“Now we’ve got a few very bright particles or fragments or something that go drifting by as we maneuver,” one astronaut said in audio included within the newly released records.
“There’s a whole bunch of big ones on my window down there,” another astronaut said in the recording. “It looks like the Fourth of July out of Ron’s window.”
Another astronaut described visible objects as “very jagged, angular fragments that are tumbling” while discussing what crew members observed during portions of the mission.
One released document reportedly involved a debriefing session with Apollo 11 astronauts following the historic 1969 moon landing mission carried out by the US space program.
According to the document, astronaut Buzz Aldrin described seeing an unidentified object during the trip toward the moon and said crew members examined it using onboard equipment.
“The first unusual thing that we saw I guess was one day out or something pretty close to the moon,” Aldrin reportedly said during the debriefing discussion included in the released materials.
Aldrin also reportedly referenced “little flashes inside the cabin” and a “fairly bright light source” that astronauts initially believed may have been connected to laser activity or spacecraft equipment.
The Department of War announced the release in a statement posted on X, describing the move as part of a broader transparency initiative ordered by President Donald Trump, per The Western Journal.
“The American people can now access the federal government’s declassified UAP files instantly,” the department wrote while announcing publication of the documents and mission records online.
Officials said the files had been reviewed for national security concerns before release but acknowledged many materials had not yet undergone additional scientific or intelligence analysis regarding unexplained observations.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the records had fueled speculation for years and argued the public should have direct access to the information.
FBI Director Kash Patel and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard also praised the release and said additional declassification efforts involving UAP records are expected in the future.
