1972-12-01 / Moon / unresolved
During the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans reported "very bright particles or fragments or something" drifting past the spacecraft during a maneuver at Day 00, 03:34:10. Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt described the view as looking "like the Fourth of July," while Mission Commander Eugene Cernan estimated the fragments as "flat, flakelike particles," some possibly 6 inches across and twinkling. Evans speculated the fragments might be ice chunks or paint from the S-IVB stage but called that "a wild guess."
Very bright particles or fragments drifting near spacecraft during maneuver, described as jagged, angular, tumbling slowly, some possibly 6 inches across, flat and flakelike, twinkling, moving away from spacecraft