Summary
During the final crewed Apollo mission, astronauts Gene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt, and Ronald Evans report seeing small lights outside the spacecraft during transit to the Moon. They describe bright, jagged, angular particles drifting near the spacecraft and the separated Saturn S-IVB stage, speculating that paint or ice chips are the likely source.
Detail
During Apollo 17, the eleventh and final crewed mission of the Apollo program, Commander Gene Cernan, Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, and Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans reported seeing small lights outside the spacecraft during transit to the Moon.
The crew described bright "particles" or "fragments" as jagged and angular, drifting near the Apollo spacecraft and the separated Saturn S-IVB stage. They noted the objects appeared to twinkle and move away from the S-IVB stage, and speculated that paint chips or ice chips were the likely source.
This audio excerpt was released through the PURSUE declassification.
