NASA-UAP-D012 / MERCURY ATLAS 8 AUDIO EXCERPT, OCTOBER 3, 1962
During the Mercury Atlas 8 mission, Sigma 7 pilot Walter M. “Wally” Schirra Jr. describes observing “little white objects that tend to come from the capsule itself and drift off.” Schirra later also refers to those objec
About this recording
NASA-UAP-D012 / MERCURY ATLAS 8 AUDIO EXCERPT, OCTOBER 3, 1962 is a declassified NASA mission audio recording from Low Earth Orbit, dated 10/3/62. It is part of PURSUE Release 02 — the Department of War’s second tranche of UAP-related records, declassified on 2026-05-22 — and is hosted by the Department of Defense via the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS).
AARO assessment
During the Mercury Atlas 8 mission, Sigma 7 pilot Walter M. “Wally” Schirra Jr. describes observing “little white objects that tend to come from the capsule itself and drift off.” Schirra later also refers to those objects as “particles” and “lathe shavings.” Schirra also describes seeing a burst of light in the window, whose source he cannot identify. He speculates that his observation corresponds with the moment the sun passes below the horizon during sunset.
How to listen
The audio can be played and downloaded directly from the official DVIDS asset page. UAP.WATCH does not host the audio file directly to preserve the government chain-of-custody. All 7 PURSUE Release 02 audio recordings are listed in the browse archive.
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