The BEST episodes of NASA's Unexplained Files

Every episode of NASA's Unexplained Files ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of NASA's Unexplained Files!

Strange flying objects have been caught on NASA's cameras and astronauts have reported seeing UFOs. Some of the odd shapes and lights can be identified; others remain a mystery. We'll reveal NASA footage and interview the astronauts and scientists.

Last Updated: 9/20/2026Network: Science ChannelStatus: Ended
Interstellar Gold Rush
star
10.00
28 votes

#1 - Interstellar Gold Rush

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/18/2014

A distant planet shows evidence of an Earth-like atmosphere, while a mysterious light suggests an atmosphere on the Moon. Have we found evidence of a crashed alien ship in the asteroid belt? Why are there "blueberries" on Mars? 43 min | TV-PG | Premiered 03/18/2014 Apollo 12 Follower: Shortly after Apollo 12's launch the ship is struck by lightning, twice. After the ship computers recover from the lightning strike the mission continues and strange objects are seen following the moon landing. Alien Crash Site: The Dawn space probe in 2011 studies Vesta, a 4.5 million year old asteroid in the Asteroid Belt. Pictures seem to show the crash site of a triangular shaped object. Could it be a failed attempt at mining asteroids for precious metals by a race from beyond the solar system. The Gemini X Incident: A mission meant to learn how to dock with booster rockets in space turns strange when the astronauts spot flashing objects that suddenly disappear. Alien Cloud: A planet 63 light years away is photographed by the Hubble Telescope. Studies of these photos show the presence of methane that may indicate life. Skylab's Gremlins: NASA's Skylab is plagued by accidents, almost from the start of the mission. While trying to figure out why the mission has so many problems scientists see a photo of a mysterious object that leave and then returns. Mars Blueberries: The Opportunity rover lands on Mars and the first thing it photographs is little round rocks that are less red than everything else seen on the planet. Hubble Encounter: On the mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, the crew sees multiple objects buzz the mission as if watching their progress. Moon Glow: Surveyor 7 lands on the Moon prior to the first manned mission and photographs an unexpected glow. When an Apollo 17 astronaut reports a glow on the horizon, NASA finally attempts to understand the phenomenon.

star
10.00
28 votes

#2 - Pilot

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/27/2012

Strange flying objects have been caught on NASA’s cameras and astronauts have reported seeing UFOs. Some can be identified; others remain a mystery. We’ll reveal NASA footage and interview the astronauts and scientists.

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Attack of the Thunderballs
star
10.00
27 votes

#3 - Attack of the Thunderballs

Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 4/12/2016

Astronauts are evacuated when a mystery object is discovered hurtling towards the ISS, a NASA secret agent goes undercover to recover missing moon rocks & scientists struggle to find answers when they find a huge void at the edge of the solar system.

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10.00
28 votes

#4 - Hammer of Thor

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/22/2015

Are burning lights above Nevada and Utah signs of a secret space weapons project? What are the odd trails on the lunar surface near the Apollo landing sites? Does a strange space object spell disaster for the Space Shuttle crew?

star
10.00
28 votes

#5 - Revenge of the Fireflies

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/27/2015

Something in space is attacking the brains of astronauts. What is it? Should NASA be worried about the sudden appearance of so-called space fireflies? Who is responsible for the bizarre glowing spiral in the skies over Norway?

Ghosts on the Moon
star
9.50
54 votes

#6 - Ghosts on the Moon

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 7/20/2014

Could spaceships be powered by atomic bombs? Can artificial rings encircle an entire star? why was Neil Armstrong’s transmission feed cut off when he spotted strange lights on the Moon? And how can lightning talk to itself? 43 min | TV-PG | Premiered 07/20/2014 The Aristarchus Enigma: Apollo 11 astronauts see illumination coming from the Aristarchus Crater. Martian Space Station: Mars moon Phobos may be hollow, that some believe may be a space station. Curiosity's Companions: After Curiosity lands on Mars one of the first things it sees are object apparently leaving the planet. Alien Star Drive: When an X-Ray signature is seen coming from a nearby Galactic Clusters may be an alien's nuclear drive. Intelligent Lighting: Lightning appears to flash in sequence between storms that are far apart. Mir Mystery: Objects buzz the Mir Space Station during the shuttle docking procedure. Many believe something has been trying to sabotage the station. Moon Watcher: Photos taken by the Apollo 17 astronauts seem to show an object apparently watching their activities. Kuiper Belt Intruder: More than 90% of the material that should be in the Kuiper Belt is not there.

Secret Aliens
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9.00
28 votes

#7 - Secret Aliens

Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/3/2017

An astronomer records an unusual radio signal from beyond our solar system. FBI agents find classified documents at the home of a NASA scientist. When scientists discover strange DNA in the octopus, they examine if their origins could be alien.

Stonehenge on Mars
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9.00
28 votes

#8 - Stonehenge on Mars

Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/10/2017

When NASA spots a something on Mars that resembles Stonehenge, they investigate what could have made this strange structure. Scientists discover a mysterious hole in Saturn's rings. An ancient tribe claims contact with alien visitors.

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Mars' Deepest Secret
star
9.00
27 votes

#9 - Mars' Deepest Secret

Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/18/2016

Soviet photos of the moon are intercepted by the CIA; a malfunction aboard the ISS, which imperils the whole crew; NASA probe finds evidence of the possibility of life on Mars.

Pluto's Stranger Things
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9.00
28 votes

#10 - Pluto's Stranger Things

Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 8/30/2016

Evidence of alien technology around a distant star; speculation about Pluto's surface; Apollo astronauts are at a loss of words to describe an object they encountered while they approached the moon. Science Channel has named this episode the first episode of season 4.

Pluto Under Pressure
star
9.00
27 votes

#11 - Pluto Under Pressure

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/23/2016

Lost tapes reveal that Apollo astronauts heard unexplained transmissions on the far side of the moon, an amateur astronomer spots a strange disturbance in Martian atmosphere & an unidentified object in Earth orbit starts stalking Russian spacecraft.

star
9.00
28 votes

#12 - Nazis on the Moon

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/13/2015

A Russian probe discovers the lunar soil was disturbed before the US or USSR got there. Did Nazis arrive first? Have scientists detected a laser signal from a planet capable of supporting life? Is there a Bermuda Triangle of Space?

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9.00
28 votes

#13 - Spacewalk of Doom

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/29/2015

How could an astronaut on a spacewalk begin to drown? Have NASA scientists discovered an asteroid that was converted into a spacecraft? What are the strange objects spotted when NASA sends a secret payload into space?

star
9.00
28 votes

#14 - Top Secret Terror

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/4/2015

Was the Moon landing faked? Images of Mercury reveal massive spider-like formations on its surface. Is it a geological formation or something ominous? A classified Space Shuttle mission ends in near-disaster. What was its mission?

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Mystery Space Squid
star
9.00
54 votes

#15 - Mystery Space Squid

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 7/24/2014

What could make a NASA astronaut report seeing a flying saucer in the skies above a US Air Force test range? How have the swirling gases of Saturn formed a perfect Hexagon that has hovered above the planet’s pole for 30 years? 43 min | TV-PG | Premiered 07/24/2014 U.S. UFO: Capitan Gordon Cooper sends two camera men to the area to set up filming equipment a test site, but they film a UFO landing instead. The Mega Hex: The Voyager Space craft takes photos of Saturn and appears to show a giant Hexagon engulfing the poles. 24 years later the Casini spacecraft takes better pictures that confirm the hexagon is still there. Lunar Lights: Apollo 14 is plagued with technical problems, but they make it safely to the surface on the moon. After developing film taken on the moon show mysterious blue lights. Discovery Déja Vu: 2001 Space Shuttle Discovery external camera seem multiple objects moving independently. The WOW Factor: August 1977 a signal is picked up coming from deep space. Space Squid: December 1968 - Apollo 8 takes photos of the moon, but when developed the film show something with tentacles in space near the moon. Space Angels: Space Shuttle Atlantis films thunderstorms from space. The film shows giant discharges above the clouds, that look like electrified jellyfish. Interstellar Power Stations: Dr. Dick Carrigan is looking at the infrared data collected by observation satellites to find Dyson's Sphere.

star
8.50
55 votes

#16 - Life in Hell

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/2/2015

A UFO crashes in Pennsylvania. Was it a secret Soviet satellite or something far more dangerous? On Mercury, NASA finds the impossible: frozen water. A strange object causes a skyscraper-sized shadow on the surface of Mars's largest moon. What is it?

star
8.50
55 votes

#17 - Lethal Weapons

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/20/2015

How did pictures from the Hubble telescope make the comet of the century look like an alien spacecraft? Has earth already been invaded by alien organisms? What mysterious force is smashing a near-earth asteroid to pieces?

Ghosts on a Comet
star
8.00
27 votes

#18 - Ghosts on a Comet

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/15/2016

When a Chinese moon rover breaks down, a NASA scientist points to a mysterious material that seemed to sabotage the Apollo missions, decades earlier. The Rosetta spacecraft finds a comet that appears to be singing.

The Moon that Disappeared
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8.00
27 votes

#19 - The Moon that Disappeared

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/22/2016

Recently discovered documents reveal NASA's secret plan B for failure of the first moon landing, a Soyuz capsule carrying astronaut Peggy Whitson back to Earth vanishes without explanation and NASA’s Cassini mission unravels a three hundred year old.

Curse of the Red Planet
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8.00
27 votes

#20 - Curse of the Red Planet

Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/29/2016

Three cosmonauts die mysteriously as they re-enter Earth's atmosphere. A declassified document reveals a CIA plan to use a space disaster as a cover to start war and a NASA rover discovers clues that help solve a murder.

Curse of the Gas Giant
star
8.00
28 votes

#21 - Curse of the Gas Giant

Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/19/2017

Scientists wonder why Jupiter is hotter than it should be; the Curiosity Rover finds something strange on Mars; detectives turn to NASA for help with a murder cold case.

Shadow Deathstar
star
7.70
84 votes

#22 - Shadow Deathstar

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/2/2014

Astronaut Leroy Chao’s spacewalk is interrupted by bright lights flying past. A flying saucer photographed from the Apollo capsule, dark shapes caught on camera shadowing the shuttle. The ideas are science fiction, but the incidents are science fact. 43 min | TV-PG | Premiered 03/02/2014 ISS Illumination: March 28, 2005 - Astronaut Dr. Leroy Chiao is on a space walk working on the ISS and sees an echelon formation of lights fly between the station and Earth. Life on Europa: The Galileo probe explores Jupiter and its moon Europa. The red streaks seen on the moon's surface appear to show signs of microbial life. Apollo 16 Incident: A camera filming outside of the lunar lander sees a classic UFO image, that wasn't explained for 30 years. NASA vs The Russians: The Chelyabinsk meteor event in February 2013 sparks fears that someone has attacked the city. Did someone shoot meteor and make it explode? Deathstar Refuels: In March 2012 solar scientists see a dark round spot the size of 10 Earths hovering near the Sun. The Sphere has planet size tendrils reaching down to the Sun's surface. Telepathic Aliens: Astronauts often see flashes of light that are not seen on camera. Is space the perfect medium for telepathic communication. Invaders From Mars: Does NASA already have evidence of life on Mars? The meteor from Mars that seems to have fossilized worm like life forms. Columbia Triangle: Triangular UFOs had only been seen from Earth until 1986 when Space Shuttle Columbia sees one right after it enters orbit.

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Black Knight Rises
star
7.50
56 votes

#23 - Black Knight Rises

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/11/2014

Cold Warrior: December 1998 - NASA astronauts begin construction of the International Space Station and photograph a strange object that some link to the 1950s story of the 'Black Knight'. Space Geysers: The Casini probe takes pictures of Saturn's moon Enceladus and sees massive geysers of liquid water on a moon that should be dead. These geysers also contain the building blocks of life. Hole in the Sun: July 18, 2013 - Scientists observing the Sun see what appears to be a 500,000 mile hole creep across the Surface of the Sun. Alien Spies: September 2002 - An amateur astronomer spots a bright object orbiting Earth. He reports the object to the authorities and NASA scientists are surprised to find the object covered in paint. Martian Tracks: November 1971 - Mariner 9 arrives on Mars and sends back images of unusual tracks on the planet's surface. Faster Than The Speed of Light: December 1995 - The Hubble Telescope is pointed at a completely empty spot of sky to see what's there and surprisingly the faint galaxies seen appear to be traveling faster than the speed of light. STS-114 Boomerang: July 26, 2005 - One of the cameras from Space Shuttle Discovery sees an object change direction own its own. We Are The Aliens: The theory of Panspermia is that life here on Earth may have originated elsewhere, by riding rocks to Earth after being knocked off other planets by asteroid strikes.

Alien Death Ray
star
7.00
55 votes

#24 - Alien Death Ray

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/6/2014

STS - 115 Triangle: September 20, 2006 - Space Shuttle Atlantis prepares to return home from work assembling the International Space Station, when the shuttle commander spots objects in a triangle formation. Alien X: Astronomers focus on a comet that has a X shape not commonly found in nature Life But Not As We Know It: Saturn's moon Titan has a primitive Earth like surface, but has liquid methane instead of water. Could life develope based on methane? Alien Star Wars: December 1970 - X-rays that can destroy planets are coming from an area without a star, could it be a sign of an alien war with advanced weaponry? Or is there a natural explanation. Aurora Arrow: In 2006 photos taken from the International Space Station show what looks like a space ship parked in the northern lights. Space Eel: A secret shuttle mission sees a snake like object moving across space. Could something live in the environment of space. Moon Pigeons: Apollo 10 photographs something they have dubbed moon pigeons, but their appearance always seems to bring trouble for the mission. Life on Mars: The Viking probe in 1975 looks for life on Mars, the agreed upon results show life. NASA dismisses these results. But new information may indicate the results were correct all along.

Rise of the Ice Creatures
star
7.00
27 votes

#25 - Rise of the Ice Creatures

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/8/2016

Neil Armstrong goes into an unexplained spin. He needs to figure out what’s causing it, or he faces certain death. An Apollo 17 photo seems to show a military outpost on the Moon & could there be alien life swimming in the oceans of Jupiter’s moons?

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