Project MOONDUST Correspondence and Reports (1973-1979)

This document collection comprises a series of declassified Department of State cables and correspondence related to 'Project MOONDUST,' a U.S. government program tasked with the recovery and identification of space objects. The records span from 1973 to 1979 and detail the U.S. government's interest in investigating various objects found in foreign countries, including the Ivory Coast, New Zealand, and Bermuda. The primary focus of the correspondence is the coordination between the Department of State, NASA, the Department of Defense, and foreign governments to identify suspected space debris. In 1973, the U.S. expressed interest in analyzing a cylindrical object found in Kurow, New Zealand, and potential space fragments in the Ivory Coast. By 1978, the focus shifted to two spherical objects found in Ashburton, New Zealand. Initially, these 'space balls' were treated as potential space debris, with detailed physical descriptions provided by the New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR). However, after thorough investigation, the New Zealand DSIR and the External Intelligence Bureau concluded that the objects were a hoax, likely altered aluminum fishing floats. The documents also include a 1979 communication regarding the recovery of a portion of a Centaur space vehicle in Bermuda, where NASA ultimately recommended no further investigation due to the high cost of shipping the object. The collection concludes with a 2007 letter from the Department of State to John Greenewald, Jr., releasing these documents under the Freedom of Information Act.