THE STRANGE / ALIENS
Did Buzz Aldrin see a UFO? Was there an Apollo 20?
RECORD / AT A GLANCE
FALSE
Aldrin said the light was almost certainly sunlight on a panel from their own rocket, and that he regretted how a TV show cut his words. Apollo 20 was cancelled in 1970 and never flew.
THE EVENTS / THE CLAIM / THE RECORD
July 1969
Apollo 11’s crew sees a light that seems to move alongside them.
January 1970
The mission is dropped.
2005
A documentary edit makes Aldrin seem to describe a UFO.
2007
Online videos claim a secret mission found an alien “Mona Lisa”.
READ THE FILE
An astronaut said he saw it.
Sunlight on a panel.
A mission that never flew.
Open an article for its evidence, labeled AI assessment and numbered sources. Read the complete static edition ↗
WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THIS FILE
3 claims people make about this file, each rated documented, partly true, disputed, unproven or false. Think a rating is wrong? Use Dispute or Support, or join the Discussion.
Aldrin reported a light moving alongside them.
Who says it: Aldrin.
He said it was sunlight on a panel from their own rocket.
Who says it: TV documentary edit.
Apollo 20 was cancelled in 1970.
Who says it: Online videos.
OPEN THE RECORD
Numbered citations in each article identify the relevant sources. These records have different purposes and evidentiary weight.
Quotes Aldrin’s own 2014 explanation: sunlight reflected off one of four panels released from the rocket.
Fact check. Notes that a TV edit cut Aldrin’s explanation.
Primary institutional record. Carried from the first edition and re-listed 23 October 2026; cited for the specific point in the text.
Fact check on the Apollo 20 hoax videos. Apollo 20 was cancelled in 1970.
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An astronaut said he saw it.
Aldrin himself said that on Apollo 11 he “observed a light out the window that appeared to be moving alongside us”, and that technically it was “unidentified.” [1]
Quotes Aldrin’s own 2014 explanation: sunlight reflected off one of four panels released from the rocket.
Sunlight on a panel.
Aldrin explained that four panels had separated when the lander was pulled from the rocket. “I feel absolutely convinced that we were looking at the sun reflected off of one of these panels,” he said. The crew reported it at the debriefing. [1]
He said a 2005 documentary cut his explanation and made it sound like an alien sighting. [1][2]
Quotes Aldrin’s own 2014 explanation: sunlight reflected off one of four panels released from the rocket.
Fact check. Notes that a TV edit cut Aldrin’s explanation.
A mission that never flew.
Apollo 20 was cancelled in January 1970. [1] Videos claiming that a secret Apollo 20 found an alien body nicknamed “Mona Lisa” have circulated since 2007; fact-checkers found no evidence for them. [2]
Primary institutional record. Carried from the first edition and re-listed 23 October 2026; cited for the specific point in the text.
Fact check on the Apollo 20 hoax videos. Apollo 20 was cancelled in 1970.
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