Astronaut Scientific Debriefings, 1962-1963

This NASA file of astronaut scientific debriefing papers from 1962 collects internal Office of Space Sciences material on the science observations made on early Mercury flights. A February 1962 memo from Maurice Dubin asks for more detail on John Glenn's report of luminous particles and the atmospheric horizon layer. A draft memo concludes that the particles were tied to the spacecraft and were not extraterrestrial. The file also holds a Los Alamos letter that attributes the high haze layer to nitrogen peroxide, and notes on Carpenter's airglow observations.

From the source:Release of 2026-06-12 This file contains memoranda, correspondence, reports, and other materials relating to contemporary scientific interest in investigating the nature of luminous phenomena reported by astronauts John Glenn and Walter Schirra during spaceflight. This collection includes transcripts from NASA interviews and debriefings with both astronauts regarding those observations. It also contains details relating to scientific observations of atmospheric phenomena, including brief descriptions of luminous particles, experiences while aboard spacecraft, and circa 1955 theoretical analysis of meteoric particles entering the atmosphere. Pages 34-35, 55-56, 57-63, 64-113, and 122-127 feature content relevant to the PURSUE initiative.

Scientific Debriefing -19-
Cooper: ~finite~: The ideal would be a series of lights. A better
combination would be a series ot flashing ·lights arranged in .some pattern. ,
~e like a running rabbit strobe pattern. I am sure it wouldn't have to
be synchronized.
Bill: 'You mentioned how fast :fast you were moving. Do you think you had
enough time to make use of some sighting ·device such as -a sextant? .
Cooper: You aren·!t going to be able to take very long. readingso Youvre
going to ~ave ✓ to be set up and ready to go, and you 're going to have to have
some devices .that are •re~ usable. You figure that when you get from the
west coast of the United states to the east coast of the United States, the ,
ground is moving under you fair~ rapi~ in ten minutes. The ground is
. ' .
moving t .oo fast. You need to have some devices that are re~ usable and
you need to be se~ up and ready t(? go. I guess you have about 20 to 30
' .
seconds for a reading._
Bill Armstrong: One · of the•
·,·phas·es· of the Apollo mission .requires a position ··.'
fix ~ile still' in a holding orbit. Before going into ·the translunar ·phase ·· , ,
I • J
sightings of earth fixed targets for navigation would be ab~ut the same
yqu experienced in the ·ground light. Would this .be practicable2