USG-UAP-D001: Congressional and White House UFO-Related Constituent Correspondence, 1998

Source file: USG-UAP-D001_Congress-WhiteHouse-UFO-Correspondence_1998.pdf Originating agency: U.S. Government (NASA Office of Legislative Affairs; U.S. Senate; White House) Document type: Constituent correspondence, HATS tracking records, draft and final letters, enclosures Classification: Unclassified (partially redacted under FOIA exemption b(6), personal privacy) Date range: May 1998 - September 1998 (primary correspondence); includes 1976 enclosure Page count: 86 VIRIN: 260508-O-D0360-1128 PURSUE Release: 3

Summary

This collection documents how the U.S. Government in 1998 processed a wave of constituent inquiries about UFOs, astronaut sightings, Mars photographs, and calls for congressional hearings. The correspondence was managed through NASA's Headquarters Action Tracking System (HATS) and the White House Office of Agency Liaison, with NASA's Office of Legislative Affairs serving as the primary response office. Associate Administrator for Legislative Affairs Edward Heffernan signed all outgoing NASA replies. All constituent identities are redacted throughout under FOIA exemption b(6).

The cases in the collection include:

• L/1998-00407 (Sen. Snowe): A constituent from Stonington, Maine, interested in UFOs and "recently released Mariner photographs" (actually Mars Global Surveyor images). NASA's reply stated that MGS images are received digitally, not manipulated, and publicly accessible online.
• L/1998-00729 (Sen. Grassley): A constituent requesting information on UFO sightings by NASA astronauts. NASA's reply stated that most astronaut sightings were identified and that NASA has no program for investigating UFOs.
• L/1998-00494 / A/1998-00461 (White House referral): A constituent from Ventura, California, who emailed President Clinton supporting congressional hearings on UFOs, referencing a claimed December 1997 CSETI briefing. The White House referred the letter to NASA for response.
• L/1998-00470 (Rep. Gordon): A constituent inquiry forwarded by a House member about taxpayer money being spent on "space aliens."

The most substantial enclosure is the full text of James E. Oberg's 1976 article "Astronauts and UFOs: The Whole Story!" (SEARCH magazine, Winter 1976), which NASA routinely sent with its replies to astronaut-sighting inquiries.

Research Article

The bureaucratic machinery: HATS and the Office of Legislative Affairs

The collection offers a rare window into how the U.S. Government processed UFO inquiries at the institutional level in the late 1990s. Each constituent inquiry received a HATS (Headquarters Action Tracking System) tracking number. An "Incoming Correspondence Action" form was generated, assigning a responsible Action Office, a due date, a signature authority (consistently L/Heffernan), and an analyst. Draft letters were circulated with handwritten edits and approvals before final signed copies were sent to the constituent's congressional office and, where applicable, the White House Office of Agency Liaison.

The tracking records show that UFO-related correspondence was filed under file plan code 1320.4 (Aeronautics: UFO), processed with the same administrative machinery as any other congressional inquiry, and handled by named analysts: BMoore for the Snowe and Gordon cases; JMassey for the Grassley and White House referral cases. Response turnaround time was typically four to six weeks.

The official position in 1998

NASA's replies are formulaic but precise. On the astronaut-sighting question, Heffernan's September 4, 1998, letter to Senator Grassley states: "Over the years there have been many objects sighted by the astronauts during space missions. Most of these items were later identified by photographs or NORAD records as material from launch vehicles or spacecraft or were such items as water droplets. No unidentified materials were seen on missions to the moon. The Air Force, in the interest of national security, received and investigated all reports for many years but has discontinued this activity. NASA has no program for investigating UFOs and has not withheld information on sightings."

On the Mars photograph question, Heffernan's June 24, 1998, letter to Senator Snowe states: "There are no recently released Mariner photographs. We assume [constituent] is referring to the images taken from our Mars Global Surveyor (MGS). NASA does not tamper with images received from MGS. These images are received on Earth in digital format, meaning '0 and 1'. NASA merely translates these digital images, using computer processing, into actual images. All images and other instrument data is deposited in a publicly accessible archive within six months after receipt."

On the UFO-hearing question, responding to the White House referral: "We are not aware of any hearings scheduled on UFO. Enclosed is a Fact Sheet, 'The US Government and Unidentified Flying Objects,' which gives a brief history of NASA's investigations into UFO."

The Oberg enclosure: NASA's standard debunking resource

The longest single item in the collection is the full reprint of James E. Oberg's 1976 SEARCH magazine article "Astronauts and UFOs - The Whole Story!" (SEARCH, Winter 1976, Issue 129, Palmer Publications, Amherst, Wisconsin). This 25-page illustrated article was routinely enclosed with NASA's replies to astronaut-sighting inquiries as of 1998 - 22 years after initial publication.

Oberg systematically addressed the most famous "astronaut UFO" cases: the Jim McDivitt/Gemini-4 photograph of 1965 (identified as the Titan booster rocket, not seen because NORAD's list was incomplete when Gemini-4 queried it); the Gemini-7 sightings; Scott Carpenter's Mercury-7 balloon (1963); the Gemini-11 sighting of Proton-3 (1966); Apollo-12's "SLA panels" (1969); and Skylab sightings. He worked with NASA photo analyst Richard Underwood at the Johnson Space Center to examine the actual photographic records.

Oberg's conclusion, subsequently endorsed by Dr. J. Allen Hynek: "after fifteen years of manned space voyages including space stations and landing on the moon, spacemen have brought back not a shred of evidence - verbal, photographic, or otherwise - for the existence of extraterrestrial spacecraft, or 'UFOs'."

The constituent letters: the 1990s UFO landscape

The constituent letters forwarded through congressional offices reflect the full range of 1990s UFO belief. The Grassley constituent forwarded a detailed email (dated July 6, 1998) containing secondhand claims about Gordon Cooper's 1963 Mercury-9 sighting over Muchea, Australia; McDivitt's Gemini-4 sighting; Frank Borman's "bogey at 10 o'clock high" Gemini-7 transmission; alleged Apollo-11 transmissions about aliens on the moon (including a fabricated Armstrong "warned off" exchange); Donald Slayton's 1951 P-51 fighter sighting; Major Robert White's X-15 report (July 17, 1962); and a claimed Space Shuttle Discovery "alien spacecraft" radio exchange.

The Ventura, California constituent who emailed President Clinton (May 17, 1998) referenced Dr. Steven Greer's CSETI, an alleged December 1997 congressional briefing by Greer, asked about Area 51 and "S-4," cited Bob Lazar and Bill Uhouse, and invoked MJ-12. The White House forwarded this email to NASA via the Office of Agency Liaison bulk referral mechanism.

Historical significance

This collection is valuable as administrative evidence of the U.S. Government's formal institutional response to UFO inquiries in 1998. It demonstrates that:

1. NASA maintained a standardized, consistent denial posture and provided a single standard fact sheet to all inquirers.
2. The James Oberg 1976 article was still being distributed as an official NASA enclosure 22 years after publication.
3. White House correspondence on UFOs was systematically routed to NASA for response through the Office of Agency Liaison.
4. UFO mail volume was high enough to warrant a dedicated White House "bulk referral" system.
5. The file plan category 1320.4 (Aeronautics: UFO) had existed long enough to be a standard administrative designation.

This posture contrasts sharply with the government's later acknowledgments under the UAPTF (2021), AARO (2022), and the PURSUE disclosure series itself.

Key People

Locations

Incidents

Notable Quotes

"Over the years there have been many objects sighted by the astronauts during space missions. Most of these items were later identified by photographs or NORAD records as material from launch vehicles or spacecraft or were such items as water droplets. No unidentified materials were seen on missions to the moon... NASA has no program for investigating UFOs and has not withheld information on sightings." -- Edward Heffernan, NASA, letter to Sen. Grassley, September 4, 1998 (page 4)

"There are no recently released Mariner photographs. We assume [constituent] is referring to the images taken from our Mars Global Surveyor (MGS). NASA does not tamper with images received from MGS. These images are received on Earth in digital format, meaning '0 and 1'." -- Edward Heffernan, NASA, letter to Sen. Snowe, June 24, 1998 (page 41)

"We are not aware of any hearings scheduled on UFO. Enclosed is a Fact Sheet, 'The US Government and Unidentified Flying Objects,' which gives a brief history of NASA's investigations into UFO." -- Edward Heffernan, NASA, response to White House referral, June 24, 1998 (page 52)

"...after fifteen years of manned space voyages including space stations and landing on the moon, spacemen have brought back not a shred of evidence - verbal, photographic, or otherwise - for the existence of extraterrestrial spacecraft, or 'UFOs'." -- James E. Oberg, "Astronauts and UFOs: The Whole Story!", SEARCH magazine, Winter 1976 (page 24 of enclosure)

"An unprecedented number of individuals still write the President and the First Lady for help. I know that this has meant a far greater volume of mail for your agency than ever before." -- Sue J. Smith, White House Director of Office of Agency Liaison, memorandum to NASA, June 4, 1998 (page 53)