Roswell Incident: What is the official explanation for the 1947 Roswell incident? Why does it remain the most controversial event in UFO research history?

Okay, let's talk about the Roswell incident, the most classic and perplexing mystery in UFO history. It's like a giant puzzle that countless people have tried to piece together for decades, but the parts never quite fit.

What is the Official Explanation? — A Story That Changed Twice

The most interesting aspect of the official explanation for the Roswell incident is that it has changed several times itself, which is the root of its controversy.

1. The Initial Version: "Flying Disc" (July 8, 1947)

   • When the incident first occurred, Walter Haut, the Public Information Officer for the Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF), issued a press release with a sensational headline: "RAAF Captures Flying Disc in Roswell Region." This immediately ignited global curiosity, with major newspapers reporting that the military had found a flying disc.

2. The Second Version: "Weather Balloon" (July 9, 1947)

   • However, just 24 hours later, the military quickly "debunked" their own story. They held a press conference where senior officer General Roger Ramey displayed some seemingly ordinary debris (some tin foil, rubber, and wooden sticks) and announced that the "flying disc" mentioned the day before was a mistake; it was actually just an ordinary weather balloon. Jesse Marcel, the intelligence officer who initially discovered the debris and was present, had no choice but to play along. This "weather balloon" explanation remained the official standard answer for over 30 years.

3. The Final Version: "Project Mogul" Secret Reconnaissance Balloon (1990s)

   • By the 1990s, as UFO researchers and the media continued to dig deeper, the old "weather balloon" explanation was no longer convincing. The U.S. Air Force was compelled to release two detailed reports, offering a new, and currently final, explanation:
     • The crashed object was not an ordinary weather balloon, but rather from a top-secret military project called "Project Mogul."
     • The purpose of this project was to use high-altitude balloons carrying specialized microphones to detect sound waves generated by Soviet nuclear tests. This was a top national secret at the time.
     • Because the balloon trains and equipment used in "Project Mogul" were very complex, featuring radar reflectors, special foil, and tape, it was natural for the rancher to find these materials mysterious as he had never seen anything like them before.
     • As for the legendary "alien bodies," the Air Force explained that these memories might be a confusion between the Roswell incident and high-altitude dummy experiments (such as "Project High Dive") conducted in the same area in the 1950s. Those dummies falling from high altitudes, when viewed from a distance or after being damaged, could have been mistaken for "non-human" bodies.

In short, the official final explanation is: a top-secret military reconnaissance balloon crashed, and to cover up this secret, they first hastily admitted it was a "flying disc," then quickly used the "weather balloon" lie to conceal it, and finally, decades later, admitted it was a "secret reconnaissance balloon."

Why Does It Remain the Most Controversial Event in UFO Research History?

Why did a story about a secret balloon cause such a stir, with countless people still believing it involved aliens today? There are several main reasons:

1. The Military's Inconsistent Statements Are the Biggest Flaw

   • Think about it: if it was just a weather balloon from the start, why would the first official press release call it a "flying disc"? This came directly from the military itself. This back-and-forth narrative—from "flying disc" to "weather balloon" to "secret reconnaissance balloon"—inherently raises suspicion. It's like someone telling a lie, and to cover it up, they have to tell more lies, leading to more and more loopholes.

2. Numerous Key Witness Testimonies

   • Major Jesse Marcel: He was the intelligence officer responsible for recovering the debris from the site. In the late 1970s, he broke his silence in an interview, insisting that the debris he saw at the scene was absolutely not from Earth. He said the metal foil was "as thin as paper, but if you crumpled it up, it would spring back to its original shape, and you couldn't even dent it with a hammer." He also stated that the "weather balloon" debris displayed by the military at the press conference was swapped later and was not what he brought back from the site. The firsthand testimony of a senior intelligence officer carries significant weight.
   • Other Military and Civilian Witnesses: Besides Marcel, dozens of other eyewitnesses later came forward, including funeral home owners, nurses, and military police. Some said they received calls from the military asking if they could provide small-sized coffins; some claimed to have seen strange, non-human bodies at the base hospital; others described how the military cordoned off the area and threatened them not to speak. These testimonies collectively painted a picture of the "military covering up a major discovery."

3. The Legend of "Alien Bodies" Is Deeply Ingrained

   • Although the "bodies" narrative did not appear in 1947, it began to gain traction after the 1980s. In particular, a black-and-white film titled "Alien Autopsy" circulated globally in the 1990s. Although it was later proven to be a hoax, it had already deeply imprinted the concept of "Roswell = crashed flying saucer + alien bodies" into popular culture. Even if fake, it greatly fueled the mysterious aura of the Roswell incident.

4. The Perfect Breeding Ground for Conspiracy Theories

   • The Roswell incident occurred in the early Cold War, an era filled with secrets, espionage, and distrust. "National security" was the perfect justification for covering up anything. The military's suspicious actions during the incident (cordoning off, threats, information control) perfectly aligned with people's imagination of "the government having unspeakable secrets." Many believe that explaining it with "Project Mogul" is just another, more sophisticated smokescreen thrown out by the authorities to conceal the shocking truth of capturing an alien craft and beings.

In summary, the Roswell incident is like a Rashomon. While the official explanation sounds "scientific," its own changes and contradictions provide ample points of attack for skeptics; and while UFO proponents have numerous human testimonies, many of these accounts are recollections from decades later, inevitably containing discrepancies and exaggerations in detail.

What is the truth? Is it a secret military project clumsily covered up, or humanity's first "close encounter" with an alien civilization? It is precisely this ambiguity and uncertainty that gives the Roswell incident its endless fascination, making it the eternal centerpiece of UFO research history.