Which agency produced NASA Explains Astronaut UFO Sightings to Congress, 1998?

NASA Explains Astronaut UFO Sightings to Congress, 1998 is a primary-source record from U.S. Government.

What programs and topics appear in NASA Explains Astronaut UFO Sightings to Congress, 1998?

NASA Explains Astronaut UFO Sightings to Congress, 1998 references NASA Fact Sheet, SEARCH magazine, Gemini-4, Apollo, UFO correspondence and astronaut sightings.

← Files

DISCLOSURE / FILE

NASA Explains Astronaut UFO Sightings to Congress, 1998

USG-UAP-D001, Congressional, White House, UFO-related Constituent Correspondence, 1998

This 1998 U.S. Government correspondence file tracks White House, NASA, and congressional responses to constituent questions about UFOs, Mars imagery, astronaut sightings, and claims of withheld government information.

Brief

The file is a correspondence packet, not an investigative report. Its clearest final response is a September 4, 1998 letter to Senator Charles E. Grassley saying NASA astronauts had seen many objects during missions, but most were later tied to launch material, spacecraft material, or water droplets. The letter states that no unidentified materials were seen on lunar missions, that the Air Force had stopped its UFO-report investigation activity, and that NASA had no UFO investigation program. The packet also logs a Snowe-forwarded inquiry about UFOs and recent Mars photos, plus an enclosed James Oberg article arguing that major astronaut UFO claims had been misread, embellished, or explained by ordinary spaceflight conditions.

Metadata

Agency: U.S. Government
Release: 6/12/26
Incident: 1998
Type: PDF • .pdf
Length: 86 pages
Programs: NASA Fact Sheet, SEARCH magazine, Gemini-4, Apollo
Tags: UFO correspondence, astronaut sightings, Mars photos, NASA, Congress, 1998, lunar missions, NORAD records

Key points

The file is organized under an aeronautics UFO file plan, labeled "1320.4 Aeronautics: UFO."p.1
Senator Olympia Snowe's office forwarded a constituent letter from Maine about UFOs and recently released Mars photos.p.2
Senator Charles E. Grassley forwarded a constituent request for information on UFO sightings by astronauts.p.3
NASA's congressional response said astronauts had seen many objects during missions, but most were later identified through photographs or NORAD records as launch-vehicle material, spacecraft material, or water droplets.p.4
NASA stated that no unidentified materials were seen on missions to the moon.p.4
NASA stated that it had no UFO investigation program and had not withheld sighting information.p.4
NASA enclosed a James Oberg article and a NASA Fact Sheet to help Senator Grassley respond to the constituent inquiry.p.4
The Oberg article framed astronaut UFO claims as a major pillar of UFO evidence, then argued that the record contained exaggeration, confusion, photo forgeries, and ordinary spaceflight explanations.p.6

Verbatim

Over the years there have been many objects sighted by the astronauts during space missions.
p.4
Most of these items were later identified by photographs or NORAD records as material from launch vehicles or spacecraft or were such items as water droplets.
p.4
No unidentified materials were seen on missions to the moon.
p.4
NASA has no program for investigating UFOs and has not withheld information on sightings.
p.4
In 1976, James Oberg thoroughly researched the UFO/astronaut allegations and published an article about it in SEARCH magazine.
p.4

Most interesting

The packet treats UFO correspondence as routine congressional casework rather than as a new investigation.
The Grassley inquiry was logged, answered, and closed within September 1998.
The Snowe inquiry tied UFO interest to then-recent Mars photos, showing that Mars-imagery authenticity questions had entered constituent correspondence by 1998.
NASA's response leans on historical Air Force responsibility for UFO reports, then draws a boundary around NASA's role.
The Oberg enclosure gives the office a skeptical technical source for astronaut-sighting claims rather than a fresh NASA investigation.

Cited in

TAKEAWAYWhat NASA explained, and what it didn'tp.1War.gov June 12, 2026

Common questions

What is NASA Explains Astronaut UFO Sightings to Congress, 1998?: This 1998 U.S. Government correspondence file tracks White House, NASA, and congressional responses to constituent questions about UFOs, Mars imagery, astronaut sightings, and claims of withheld government information.
What does NASA Explains Astronaut UFO Sightings to Congress, 1998 reveal?: The file is organized under an aeronautics UFO file plan, labeled "1320.4 Aeronautics: UFO." Senator Olympia Snowe's office forwarded a constituent letter from Maine about UFOs and recently released Mars photos. Senator Charles E. Grassley forwarded a constituent request for information on UFO sightings by astronauts.
Which agency produced NASA Explains Astronaut UFO Sightings to Congress, 1998?: NASA Explains Astronaut UFO Sightings to Congress, 1998 is a primary-source record from U.S. Government.
When is NASA Explains Astronaut UFO Sightings to Congress, 1998 dated?: NASA Explains Astronaut UFO Sightings to Congress, 1998 is dated 1998. It was disclosed 2026-06-12.
What programs and topics appear in NASA Explains Astronaut UFO Sightings to Congress, 1998?: NASA Explains Astronaut UFO Sightings to Congress, 1998 references NASA Fact Sheet, SEARCH magazine, Gemini-4, Apollo, UFO correspondence and astronaut sightings.
What does NASA Explains Astronaut UFO Sightings to Congress, 1998 say, in its own words?: "Over the years there have been many objects sighted by the astronauts during space missions." (source p. 4).

SharePost Reddit

loading viewer...

Extracted text · Page 1