Project 10073 Record Card: Alleged Moon Blast-off Photographs

This document file details the investigation by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) into a civilian source in Washington, D.C., who claimed to possess photographs of UFOs and 'blast-offs' occurring on the moon. Major Robert J. Friend of the Aerial Phenomena Group conducted interviews with the individual in December 1958. The source, who had previously plagued the office of Major General Watson with numerous phone calls, claimed to have developed a special photographic technique capable of capturing these phenomena. During the interviews, the source expressed significant hostility toward the Air Force, claiming he was being given a 'run around' and that his work constituted a matter of national security. He further alleged that his home and office were bugged and that he was under investigation. The source's behavior was characterized by investigators as exhibiting both a persecution complex and a superiority complex, with an unkempt appearance and a tendency to use technical jargon to mask limited knowledge of physics and astronomy. The investigation included an analysis of the provided photographs and film strips. ATIC analysts concluded that the images were not authentic and that the source was perpetrating a hoax, likely for financial gain or due to pathological reasons. The analysts noted that the photographs could have been reproduced to show conditions that never existed, and that the 'light spray' and other features were likely the result of poor development, scratches, or debris. The file includes various internal memos, routing slips, and a copy of a news report regarding a legitimate astronomical observation of a volcanic eruption on the moon by Soviet astronomer N. A. Kozyrev, which the source had attempted to misappropriate as evidence for his own claims. The final conclusion of the ATIC analysts was that the source's insistence on connecting his 'unusual' pictures with his own photographic developer and his attempts to solicit payment for the images strongly suggested a mercenary motive.