APOLLO 17 MISSION COMMENTARY 12/9/72 CST 17:18 GET 68:24 272/1

SC Change it. The other side is not very

good.
SC Mark, Gene I've got a series of random
lines which do not appear to be the width of my field of
view that are moving like a flashing horizon with thunder-
storms on the horizon. Their dimly flashing and their moving
across the eye from left to right and from top to bottom
individually. Both eyes. It's stopped now.
SC Mark, this is Gene again going from the
upper left to the bottom right lines of the same sort of
thing, dimly lit flashing horizon type flashes. But their
linear. Their linear and they tend to come from either the
upper left or the upper right and work their way downward.
Now they've stopped. Both eyes.
SC Mark, Gene again. Both eyes this time
the same flashes on the horizon, but they don't seem to be
moving out of both eyes. Tend to be up at the tops of both
eyes. Just rapid sequential lightening like flashes. They've
stopped.
SC Mark, Gene again. Similar type of flashes
they don't seem to be moving, but their coming from the right
of the right eye and from the upper left of the right eye.
And I can actually see an outline of a curved horizon and
the flashes are coming out from behind it. They've stopped.
PAO This is Apollo control at 68 hours
30 minutes. Distance from Earth 183 910 nautical miles.
SC And I see peripherally out of my right
eye. I cannot see these flashes, but I can see peripherally
the right hand and upper right hand side of my right eye
being lit up.
PAO Distance 183 920 nautical miles velocity
2 504 feet per second.
SC Pardon? this last one2 They were peri-
pherally I couldn't see them all I know is that there was
some light out peripherally out but a flashing glow. Oh
man, there is a good one the left eye right in the middle
it's almost a purple flash. It's still going right in the
middle of my eye and it's coming out from behind a horizon
that is almost. It starts out as a semicircle and then
folds in to a point like on a pencil, and then it disappears.
That's the horizon and the light is flashing from behind it.
It's gone.
CAPCOM Hey Gene, Houston.
SC Go ahead.
CAPCOM Okay, according to all our experts here
the phenomena your describing is pretty much the phosphene
effect sort of like when you rub your eyes or squint your
APOLLO 17 MISSION COMMENTARY 12/9/72 CST 17:18 GET 68:24 272/2

CAPCOM eyes too hard because the effect is

lasting too long. The streaks or the flashes that we're
looking for are very fast and they do not remain as a scene
to your eye. And I guess the only thing we could say would
be to maybe either relax your squint a little bit or to put the
blindfolds on exceptionally tight. I know this sounds kind
of screwy, but those are the words that we would like to say
to you but the actual phenomena we're looking for will be
a very short lived phenomena it will either be a flash or
a very fast streak. Something along this -- we're not trying
to load the data, but we feel your describing a different
phenomena.
SC Bill we lost all that last conservation
you better repeat it.
CAPCOM Okay, Gene, sorry about that and here I
thought I had waxed so eloquently. But the effect you're
describing is an effect that comes from rubbing your eyes
or perhaps squinting too hard, but the effect we're looking
for and I guess we're really not trying to load the data,
but the effect that we're looking for is a very short lived
phenomena and would not -
SC Mark, Ron, I got one in the right eye
that's coming from going towards - very narrow streak.
CAPCOM And Gene our only words of wisdom are
try to relax the eyes a little bit or if you have the blind-
fold on exceptionally tight you might work on that. But - I
guess sort of relax and see if we can see the other phenomena.
SC Ok ay.

END OF TAPE
APOLLO 17 MISSION COMMENTARY 12/9/72 17:30 CST 68:36 GET MC273/1

SC Mark, Ron, one about 12:00 in the right eye and

looked like it wasjust a spot.
SC How about 15 seconds ago? It's so dim
now I hardly noticed what it was.
SC Kinda started in the left eye and just
a flash in the left eye and then a flash in the right eye,
very dim. Going left, left to right.
SC Mark. Can't tell if it's right or left
eye. Looks like it's almost between the two eyes. There's
a mark in the one of the left eye. It's about right in the
center. Spot, no streak or anything, just a spot. First
spot seems to be between the two eyes. Upper half of the
field of view.
SC Mark, Gene, straight from the upper right
eye down to about the middle.
SC Mark, Ron, about 8:00, (garble) the diameter out,
just a bright flash, it's the brightest flash I've seen yet. Left
eye.
SC Just about a seeond or two after Ron said
Mark, I saw a vertical bright line in the left side of the
left eye, just flashed. It was the greatest intensity on the
last one I had but, the brightness was there but it was kinda
dull glow to it. It wasn't. A spot that you could really
focus on.
SC Mark, Ron, left eye, about 9:30, half
way.
SC Mark, Gene, left eye, very bright spot, left
eye, left side about half way in towards the middle.
SC That was the brightest one I've seen and
it was just a spot.
SC On tbe intensity of the last one I had
was, oh, a fourth of the bright one I had before that. Spot,
yes on the left eye.
SC Mark about 5 seconds ago, about 6:00 in
the right eye. Mark, right between the two eyes seemed like.
Both spots.
SC Mark, Gene, a sharp line from the center
of the left eye to the upper left hand, upper left hand side.
SC Mark, Gene it's a very short, very short line
upper left hand of left eye going towards the right.
PAO This is Apollo Control at 68 hours 57 min-
utes. Apollo 17's distance from Earth is 184 548 nautical
miles, traveling at a speed of 2488 feet per second.
SC Mark, Gene, upper right eye, tangential
to my eye, just a very short line. Moving -
SC Mark, Ron, oh, a fourth of diameter out
in the right eye. Light spot seemed like it was coming in.
-- APOLLO 17 MISSION COMMENTARY 12/9/72 17:30 CST 68:36 GET MC273/2

I could see the spot and then the streak, it went from that point
kind of in, or up, I guess.
SC Mark, Gene, a dull flash in the bottom in-
side corner of the right eye.
SC Mark, Ron. Go ahead, Gene.
SC Okay. Correction, Gene. That was on
the left eye, that last one?
SC The last ones, for Ron, was at 10:00 and
three-fourth of the diameter out, just a, oh, well it was only
about an eighth of an inch in diameter, right eye.

END OF TAPE
APOLLO 17 MISSION COMMENTARY 12/9/72 GET 69:02 CST 17:55 MC274/1

SC Mark Gene. Mark again, a flash. The

first flash was in the left eye and the left side. It went
vertically up and away. And following that was a flash in
the identically same spot. It was a line flash up and away.
On the left side of each eye and it went up in both cases,
but they were split by about 2 seconds.
SC Mark Ron. One fourth of the diameter out at
3 o'clock in the right eye. I mean a half a diameter. Half
a radius, put it that way.
SC Mark Gene. A flash across the bottom of
the right eye coming inward from left to right.
SC On the last one it looked like it was a
SC Mark Gene, just a spot flash in the bottom of
the left eye.
SC This is Ron. My last one there was just
a spot flash. No direction to it at all.
SC Ron mark. Mark, this is Ron. When I
first said the word, it kind of looks like a, almost a sine
wave transition from the corner and upper at 10 o'clock in
the right eye to about 2 o'clock in the left eye. Right be-
tween the two of them. The sine wave with maybe two wiggles
in it and it was about a fourth of an inch long. Going from
right to left, yes. And going into the left at about
2 o' clock.
SC Turn that music higher.
SC Yes.
SC Mark Ron. Seems like I looked up and as
I looked up, there was one in the left eye about 12 o'clock,
just a flash. On the outer periphery.
PAO This is Apollo Control at 69 hours
15 minutes. Apollo 17's distance from Earth 184 987 nautical
miles. Velocity 2477 feet per second.
SC Mark Ron. Looks to be down about 6:30,
just a flash. Right eye. Mark Ron. Left eye, about 3:30
three quarters of the radius out. A very dim flash. About
3:30. Mark Ron. Left eye. Starting at 5 o'clock on the
circumference going to 3 o'clock and about thrre quarter diameter,
three quarter radius, I mean. Just a straight line. Did I say
left eye? I guess I meant it. Okay, let's see. (garble)
It appears the motor quit. Okay.
SC Is that it?
SC Yes, I'll give it to Gene.

END OF TAPE
APOLLO 17 MISSION COMMENTARY 12/9/72 CST 18:15 GET 69:21 275/1

SC Okay, you want to take a picture of the

first one? Okay, stand by 3, 2, 1 mark it, power's on yaw.
SC Say, Bob or Stu.
CAPCOM Roger, go ahead.
SC Okay to add to today. Not last night,
but I guess the first night I was in bed I definitely saw
some of these. Because I had a hard time going to bed to
start with I saw some of the same peripheral horizon type
things you said were not the type of data you were looking
for, but I also saw some sets of the streaks and probably
the one most imposing thing that I remember was - and the
last one I remember before falling alseep was the fact that
there was a very bright spot that flashed right between my
eyes like a very bright headlight like a train coming at you
only with a flash. It's difficult probably to estimate the
frequency of any of those because I was in a sort of a sleep
hazy mode.
CAPCOM Roger.
SC But then as today I saw some that flashed
and lit up the horizon and some that lit up peripherally and
I guess as you say that's different kind of data, but I did
see them there and they impressed me.
CAPCOM Okay, we got all that Gene.
SC Okay, and it might be interesting to
know I've never seen it before today.
CAPCOM Hey, Gene we appreciate all the data we
were just trying to make the data fit the curve you know the
old trick.
SC Okay, I just wanted you to - just tell
old Mike we saw them that's all.
CAPCOM Rog.
SC I will say one thing, though, no ques-
tion in my mind but that they're there. Last trip I took I
guess I just wasn't looking for them or paying any attention
to them. Maybe they were there and I ignored them because
of other things. But they were there.
SC Okay, all you flash bugs down there -
flash bulbs I guess is the word frame 50 I just took four
pictures to show two on the side and two on the bottom to
show the position of the ALFMED and one of them of each set
was focused on the ALFMED the others were focused - the other
set was focused on the strutts.
CAPCOM Roger, Jack.
SC And when you don't have anything else to
do why don't you have somebody predict where the S-IVB is
I think I've got her spotted behind us and above us with
respect to the Earth and our travel from it.
APOLLO 17 MISSION COMMENTARY 12/9/72 CST 18:15 GET 69:21 275/2

CAPCOM Item just went out and shot himself, but

we'll get working on it.
SC Oh, don't worry about it shoot. I
thought you guys might have an idea off the cuff there.
CAPCOM No what's humorous in this Jack is they
have really been working on that S-IVB impact point. It's
been a real difficult problem for them so far.
SC I'll tell you, I bet you Ron could give a star
sighting on it. I looked at it through the monocular and
sure looks like the S-IVB.
CAPCOM Jack, we're not doubting you at all we could
probably start cranking it right now.
CAPCOM Jack are you all stowing the ALFMED now
or are you done?
SC What's that, Bob?
CAPCOM Are you all done with the ALFMED now, Ron?
SC Yes, I've got to get it to, get the plate
moved back down there yet.
CAPCOM Okay, Ron.
SC Get the blindfold off first so I can
see what I'm doing.
CAPCOM Roger, I just want you to know we've got
a real long update coming up to you here on the LOI abort
charts and it's probably going to be a difficult read up.
And your the most familiar with the charts you probably
would want to take them. But whenever you want to take
them they are on charts on page 3-81, 3-82 and then the cue
card for LOI limits. Whenever you want to take them it will
be a lengthy one.
SC Stand by, Bob let us get squared away
from the ALFMED then we will get going on that.
CAPCOM No, I don't want to hurry you, Ron. I
just want you to get yourself comfortable and be ready to
take them whenever you want them. It's going to be a lengthy
time, though.
SC Okay. Hey Bob, I'm looking at what Jack
was talking about and it's definitely not a partical that's
nearby because there is another one I can look at and get a
three dimensional comparison with. It is a bright object
and it's obviously rotating because it's flashing. It's way
out in the distance as I say because there are particles
that are close by and it's obviously not one of those. It's
apparently rotating in a very rhythmic fashion because the
flashes come around almost on time and as we look back at
the Earth it's up at about 11:00 about - oh, maybe 10 or
12 Earth diameters I don't know if that does you any good,
but there is something out there.
APOLLO 17 MISSION COMMENTARY 12/9/72 CST 18:15 GET 69:21 275/3

CAPCOM Rog, we don't doubt it Gene and we might

work out a set of fimble angles or something here maybe we
can get a look at it through the optics.
SC Okay. And I just want to emphasize that's
it definitely not one of these particles that tends to look
like a star out there something physical in the distance.
SC (Laughter). (Garble). Yes, guess I am.

END OF TAPE