Triangular Formation In Apollo 17 Lunar Photograph
NASA-UAP-VM6, Apollo 17, 1972
A DOW case record opening a formal investigation into a triangular three-dot anomaly visible in a previously public Apollo 17 lunar photograph from December 1972, with preliminary government analysis suggesting a physical object and the original mission film now in custody for full analysis.
Brief
DOW case NASA-UAP-VM6, filed under the PURSUE program, concerns a December 1972 Apollo 17 photograph in which three dots arranged in a triangular formation appear in the lower right quadrant of the lunar sky, visible upon magnification. The image has circulated publicly before, but no prior consensus was reached on whether the feature is an artifact or a real object. New preliminary US government analysis leans toward a physical object in the scene. The government has obtained the original Apollo 17 mission film; a completed NASA/DOW analysis is pending release.
Metadata
- Agency
- NASA
- Release
- 5/8/26
- Incident
- 1972
- Location
- Moon
- Type
- IMAGE • .jpg
- Programs
- PURSUE
- Tags
- triangular formation, three dots, lunar sky, Apollo 17, photographic anomaly, PURSUE, 1972, Moon, DOW case
Key points
- Three dots in a triangular formation appear in the lower right quadrant of the lunar sky in the Apollo 17 photograph, visible upon magnification.
- The photograph was previously released and publicly discussed, but no consensus on the nature of the anomaly was reached prior to this investigation.
- New preliminary US government analysis — conducted under PURSUE — suggests the image feature is potentially the result of a physical object in the scene, not an artifact.
- The US government has obtained the original Apollo 17 mission film for independent examination.
- Full NASA and DOW analysis results are forthcoming and have not yet been released as of the document date.
Most interesting
- The photograph had already entered public discourse before the DOW disclosure — this is a case of retroactive formal investigation of a previously debated image, not a newly surfaced one.
- The triangular three-dot formation matches the most commonly reported UAP geometric configuration in modern sighting databases, occurring here in a 1972 lunar context.
- Securing the original Apollo 17 film represents a meaningful evidentiary step: original analog film allows grain-level analysis that digital scans of scans cannot replicate.
- The absence of prior government consensus, despite decades of the image being publicly available, makes the shift to 'potentially physical object' in the preliminary analysis a notable escalation in official posture.