What Really Went Down in Roswell New Mexico

With all of the balloons and UFOs flying around and falling out of the sky these days I thought I'd take the time to get to the bottom of one of America's best known UFO mysteries. In 1947, the small town of Roswell, New Mexico, became the center of a major controversy that would spark decades of speculation and conspiracy theories. The incident was initially reported as a crash of an unidentified flying object (UFO) that was recovered by the US military. However, over time, it was revealed that the object was actually a top-secret government project known as Project Mogul.

Project Mogul was a joint effort between the US military and the newly formed Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to develop a high-altitude surveillance balloon that could detect sound waves from Soviet nuclear weapons tests. The project used balloons that carried listening devices and traveled in the upper atmosphere. The balloons were made of lightweight materials, such as neoprene, and were designed to be undetectable to radar.

Major Jesse A. Marcel holding foil debris from Roswell, New Mexico, UFO incident, 07/08/1947

On June 14, 1947, one of these balloons crashed on a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. The debris was found by a local rancher, Mac Brazel, who reported it to the local sheriff. The military arrived on the scene soon after the call to the sheriff and retrieved the debris. The military stated to the public that they had recovered a "flying disc," sparking speculation and rumors about extraterrestrial life and a government cover-up. The incident gained lots of attention and became known as the Roswell UFO incident. To this day the Roswell UFO incident is still a popular subject for conspiracy theories and in pop culture.