A photograph of the moon's surface, captured by NASA's Lunar Orbiter 3 in 1967, has become the subject of new theories regarding extraterrestrial life. UFO researcher Scott Waring claims an elongated feature within the image is an alien spacecraft, measuring approximately 3.4 miles in length.
Waring derived his estimate by comparing the object to the Theophilus crater, which has a diameter of 68 miles. He suggested the feature was one-twentieth the length of the crater. According to Waring, this discovery indicates that humanity was being observed by aliens prior to the first moon landing. He stated on his website, UFO Sightings Daily, that "This is 100% proof that aliens were watching humans before we ever stepped on the moon." He further speculated that the vessel would be considered a "small shuttle craft" by its alleged occupants.
NASA has consistently stated that it has found no evidence of extraterrestrial life, either past or present, on the moon or Mars. Waring, however, remains convinced that the object depicted in the 1967 photograph is an alien craft.
He elaborated on his blog, "There is a long spacecraft hovering over the moon's surface in a NASA photo from 1967. I took the measurement of the crater in the photo called Theophilus crater, which is 110km or 68 miles across by 4.4km or 2.7 miles deep, and can conclude that this UFO is 1/20 the length of the crater...equals 5.5km or 3.4 miles long UFO. That's huge to us humans, but to aliens, it's considered a small shuttle craft."
Recent releases of UFO files from the Trump administration have brought attention to alleged unexplained phenomena during the Apollo moon missions. In May, the U.S. Department of War released hundreds of pages of documents, images, and audio recordings purported to offer evidence of extraterrestrial sightings dating back to the 1940s. Among these files were transcripts from the Apollo 12 and Apollo 17 missions.
These documents and associated images reportedly revealed multiple encounters with unidentified objects during lunar missions. During the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, astronauts Gene Cernan, Jack Schmitt, and Ron Evans reported observing a bright object in space that rotated and flashed rhythmically. Cernan described it as being "way out in the distance" and clearly not a nearby particle due to its rhythmic flashing.
The Apollo 17 crew also reported seeing small objects moving near their spacecraft during their flight. Evans described them as "very bright particles or fragments or something that go drifting by." Schmitt likened the view from Evans' window to "the Fourth of July." The astronauts characterized these objects as solid, very bright, and mostly moving with the spacecraft, though some moved faster. Evans reportedly took photographs of these phenomena.
Earlier, during the Apollo 12 mission, astronauts also reported unusual sightings as they approached the lunar surface. Additionally, the Trump administration's UFO files included a NASA briefing transcript from after the Apollo 16 mission that referenced an "alien starbase" on the far side of the moon. This comment was not part of the official transcript from the 1972 mission.
Within a technical discussion of lunar data from the Apollo 16 mission, one speaker mentioned a "great big hole" near the Van de Graaff crater and speculated, "It could be an alien star base or something." The context of this remark remains unclear from the audio recording alone.