Latest declassified images from NASA Apollo missions Asking the age-old question: Are aliens real? Debate over extraterrestrial life has raged ever since the Trump administration first proposed the mass release of thousands of pages of so-called “extraterrestrial life.”UFO files“Related to an Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon (UAP). On Thursday, the Pentagon under Pete Hegseth released the first documents and photos.
Apollo images and anomalies
The material, released through a new government portal, includes grainy moon photos, military videos, transcripts and incident reports related to decades of unidentified sightings. The most discussed documents include several Apollo-era images showing mysterious lights and unexplained objects captured on the moon during NASA missions in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Apollo 12 and Apollo 17 images
One of the most talked about photos is from the 1969 Apollo 12 mission. The image appears to show a bright, glowing object hovering above the lunar horizon. The UFO files describe the images only as “unidentified phenomena.”
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Another Apollo 12 photo included in the archive shows multiple unexplained bright spots scattered far across the lunar surface.
Meanwhile, another image from the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972 shows three glowing dots arranged in a triangle. Although the image has been publicly circulated before, the newly released documents state that “there is still no consensus on the nature of the anomaly.”
The resurfaced photos quickly went viral on social media platforms, with UFO researchers and skeptics debating whether the anomalies were camera reflections, equipment artifacts, natural lunar effects or something more mysterious.
Military videos also included in declassified archives
In addition to the Apollo images, the files include a number of videos recorded by the military showing unexplained aerial objects. An infrared video taken over Iraq in 2022 reportedly showed a fast-moving object flying over a residential area before suddenly disappearing from the screen.
Another report related to military operations in Syria in 2024 described suspected UAPs as “misshapen and uneven balls of white light.” Officers also noticed a “light/glare halo effect” in the recording. The short video shows an orange glowing object suddenly appearing and disappearing after a few seconds.
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Despite review by analysts, much of the material contained in the dossier remains unresolved, according to the Defense Department.
maximum transparency
Earlier this year, Trump announced plans to release government records related to UFO and extraterrestrial investigations following renewed public interest following congressional hearings.
“Based on the overwhelming interest shown, I will direct the Secretary of War and other relevant departments and agencies to begin identifying and releasing government documents related to aliens and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), as well as any and all other information related to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important matters,” Trump wrote in a February 2026 Truth Society post.
The first batch of documents was officially released Friday through the government’s PURSUE system, which officials describe as a centralized archive of declassified UAP materials.
“The American people now have immediate access to the federal government’s declassified UAP documents. The latest UAP videos, photos, and original source documents from across the U.S. Government are in one place, without any clearance required,” the Department of Defense said in a press release.
The agency added: “While all documents have been reviewed for security purposes, many materials have not yet been analyzed to resolve any anomalies.”
Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard pledge to reveal more
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the release and said the government wanted to address years of speculation surrounding classified UFO reports.
“These documents hidden behind classifications have long fueled reasonable speculation – and now it’s time for the American people to see it for themselves,” Heggs said. “This release of declassified documents demonstrates the Trump administration’s sincere commitment to unprecedented transparency.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard also said that more records may be released in future stages of declassification.
“The American people have long sought transparency into the government’s understanding of unexplained anomalies,” Gabbard said. “Today’s release is the first step in an ongoing joint declassification and release effort.”
Do these documents prove aliens exist?
Despite the online excitement over Apollo photos and military videos, the released documents are far from confirming extraterrestrial life.
Government officials have repeatedly stressed that many anomalies remain unexplained and are not necessarily extraterrestrial. Still, the mystery surrounding lunar photos, especially those from Apollo 12 and 17, has reignited public interest in evidence of whether humans have encountered something beyond Earth.
