COMPLETE STATIC READING EDITION

Aliens and UFOs

Did Buzz Aldrin see a UFO? Was there an Apollo 20?

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The strongest version of this theory

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]

The sources

  1. Business Insider: Buzz Aldrin’s Apollo 11 “UFO” encounter (July 2014) ↗

    Quotes Aldrin’s own 2014 explanation: sunlight reflected off one of four panels released from the rocket.

What Aldrin said it was

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]

The sources

  1. Business Insider: Buzz Aldrin’s Apollo 11 “UFO” encounter (July 2014) ↗

    Quotes Aldrin’s own 2014 explanation: sunlight reflected off one of four panels released from the rocket.

  2. Reuters Fact Check: Buzz Aldrin did not claim to have seen aliens on the way to the Moon ↗

    Fact check. Notes that a TV edit cut Aldrin’s explanation.

The Apollo 20 hoax

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]

The sources

  1. NASA: Apollo 13 preparation and cancellation of Apollo 20 ↗

    Primary institutional record. Carried from the first edition and re-listed 23 October 2026; cited for the specific point in the text.

  2. Reuters Fact Check: No evidence of human remains dubbed “Mona Lisa” found on the Moon ↗

    Fact check on the Apollo 20 hoax videos. Apollo 20 was cancelled in 1970.

WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THIS FILE

The claims, rated.

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.

All 111 rated claims ↗

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Discussion

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