Great article, Alex, or excerpt as the case may be. It’s funny how we often dismiss what we see as ‘bleed through’ or something beyond our normal sight. Let me assure you there are physical objects as well.
Many years ago I had the opportunity to get to know Dr. Edgar Mitchell over a weekend. He was a speaker at an event that I managed in Phoenix, touted as the 6-month anniversary of the Phoenix Lights (Oct. 1997). We had a number of 10–15 minute conversations over that weekend, sharing so many similar concepts and ideas it felt like we were just talking shop.
After a half-dozen encounters (we both smoked Drum hand-rolling tobacco and I’d see him step into our outdoor ‘green room’ for a smoke and join him. The conversations evidently made him comfortable enough that he felt he could share an event he wasn’t able to talk about publicly.
After asking me to agree not to say anything until after his death, which I did, he shared a very compelling story. On the way down to the surface of the Moon in the LEM, he was the pilot, he notice a metallic-silver cylinder spiraling around the LEM. He thought there might have been several, but the view from the small window was extremely limited in following the object(s).
He described its size as approximately a meter in diameter and perhaps three meters long. He couldn’t be sure, but felt it to be at least that size. It continued to ‘orbit’ the LEM until they were a few hundred feet from the surface, then disappeared. He knew it wasn’t any kind of earth-based technology, though he didn’t know if it was piloted or controlled from the surface.
So here is an astronaut who admitted privately what he saw. Knowing him, I’m sure he asked a few folks he knew if I could be trusted, or maybe he just felt he could based on our deep conversations and mutual understanding. Nevertheless, I kept my promise. The Moon is occupied and perhaps the reason we didn’t return was because we were asked or commanded not to, but of course we’ll never know the straight scoop.
I’d imagine Elon’s folks are going to have to deal with a surprise, though they may not anticipate it. I’m sure Bigelow knows, or at least has been told. It will be interesting to see what the next few years bring as Space X gets the nod to launch to the Moon.
