Apollo 17 Technical Crew Debriefing, Light Flash Observations (January 4, 1973)

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MSC-07631

NASA

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

# APOLLO 17
TECHNICAL
CREW DEBRIEFING
(U)

JANUARY 4, 1973

PREPARED BY
TRAINING OFFICE
CREW TRAINING AND SIMULATION DIVISION

This document will automatically become declassified 90 days from the published date.

NOTICE: This document may be exempt from public disclosure under the Freedom of Infor- mation Act (5 U.S.C. 552). Requests for its release to persons outside the U.S. Govern- ment should be handled under the provisions of NASA Policy Directive 1382.2.

€

INDEXING DATA
DATE OPR
ان 73 M

MANNED SPACECRAFT CENTER

HOUSTON, TEXAS

# <empty>
T R
PGM (07631)
SUBJECT (07631)
SIGNATOR <empty>
LOC <empty>

DECLASSIFIED
E.O. 13526, Sec 3.3(a)
NASA Declassification Guide
Date of Guide: (M) 05 (Y) 2026

Reviewer: KS
Date: 5/6/2026

CONFIDENTIAL

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24-4

CONFIDENTI

EVANS after the brightness of the fireball decreased, I could look (CONT'D) back up through the rendezvous window and see what to me was kind of like a tunnel with a bright spot in the middle of the tunnel. Way down the tunnel, way back behind, I could see the fireball.

CERNAN The only unusual sighting I can recall during landing or recovery is when the CMP looked out the window and saw the superstructure of an aircraft carrier and said, "Oh, we've got a tin can with us. "

EVANS

SCHMITT

Well, it was kind of foggy on the windows.

Transearth we had only a small crescent of an Earth and it was not feasible to do any extensive weather observations. We had light flashes just about continuously during the whole flight when we were dark adapted. I had one which I thought was a flash on the lunar surface. That one period of time when we had the blindfolds on for the ALFMED experiment there were just no visible flashes, although that evening, that night, before I went to sleep I noticed that I was seeing the light flashes again. So, it just seemed to be that one interval either side of it where the light flash was not visible to myself or to the other two crewmen.

# APOLLO 17
TECHNICAL
CREW DEBRIEFING
(U) (cont.)