Photo: Jacob Wackerhausen / iStock / Getty Images
The Trump administration has released a large collection of never-before-seen files on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), more widely known as UFOs, and evidence related to extraterrestrial life. The Pentagon announced the first batch of these documents was made public on Friday (May 8), following a directive from President Donald Trump earlier this year to increase government transparency on the subject.
According to the Pentagon, the newly declassified files, now available on war.gov/UFO, feature videos, photos, and original source documents from agencies including the military, FBI, NASA, and the State Department. The files are accessible to the public without any special clearance, and officials say new material will be added regularly as it is found and declassified.
The files cover a wide range of incidents, from mysterious objects photographed during the Apollo 17 moon mission to images from FBI archives, showing unexplained phenomena near U.S. aircraft.
The files include transcripts from the Apollo 17 mission, where astronauts described seeing “very bright particles or fragments” and “jagged, angular fragments that are tumbling” outside their spacecraft. Other documents feature FBI photos from New Year’s Eve 1999, showing black dots in the sky alongside U.S. airplanes.
The release is part of the new Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE) program.
Officials have promised that further tranches of files will be posted every few weeks as more documents are identified and cleared for public viewing. The administration says this effort is designed to let Americans “make up their own minds” about the evidence and claims related to UFOs and possible extraterrestrial life.