Over the years, some astronauts have reported stories of sightings of flying saucers and contacts with extraterrestrials.
These are some of the key statements on the subject from people who have actually been in space.
Astronaut Edgar Mitchell
NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell was the sixth human to walk on the surface of the Moon during the Apollo 14 mission in 1971.
After retiring, he dedicated his life to the unconventional scientific study of extraterrestrial life and shortly before his death in February 2016, he shocked the public when, in an interview with the British newspaper Mirror, he claimed that aliens had visited Earth during the Cold War.
“The aliens tried to prevent war by helping to create peace on Earth ,” Mitchell said.
Astronaut Gordon Cooper
Gordon Cooper was one of seven astronauts who have served on NASA’s team since the space agency’s first project, the Mercury Program, which began in 1958.
Throughout his long career he claimed to have seen flying saucers on several occasions, and in 1978, during a UN conference on UFOs attended by Dr. J. Allen Hynek of Project Blue Book and astronomer and ufologist Jacques Vallee, Gordon Cooper sent the following message:
“Dear Ambassador Griffith:
I wanted to share my opinion about our extraterrestrial visitors, popularly called “UFOs,” and suggest what can be done to deal with them appropriately.
I believe these extraterrestrial vehicles and their crews are visiting this planet from other planets, which are obviously a bit more technically advanced than we are here on Earth. I feel we need to have a high-level coordinated program to scientifically collect and analyze data from around the world on any type of encounter and determine how best to interact with these visitors in a friendly manner. We must first show them that we have learned to solve our problems through peaceful means and not through war before we are accepted as fully qualified members of the universal team. This acceptance would have enormous possibilities for advancing our world in all areas. Certainly, then, it seems the UN has an interest in addressing this matter appropriately and expeditiously.
I should point out that I am not an experienced professional UFO researcher. I have not yet had the privilege of flying a UFO or meeting the crew of one. I feel qualified to speak about them since I have been on the fringes of the vast areas they travel. Furthermore, in 1951, I had occasion to observe numerous flights of them, of varying sizes, flying in fighter formation, generally from east to west over Europe, over two days. They were at a higher altitude than we could reach with our fighters at the time.
I’d also like to point out that most astronauts are very reluctant to talk about UFOs due to the large number of people who have indiscriminately peddled false stories and falsified documents, abusing their names and reputations without hesitation. The few astronauts who continued to participate in the UFO field had to do so with great caution. There are several of us who believe in UFOs and have had the opportunity to see a UFO on the ground or from an airplane. There has been at least one event in space that could have been a UFO.
If the United Nations agrees to undertake this project and give it credibility, perhaps many more well-qualified people will step forward and provide assistance and information.
I hope to see you soon.
