Roswell 1947: Project Mogul Explains the Debris, While the Military Created the Mystery

In July 1947, a rancher found scattered material near Roswell, New Mexico. The military base at Roswell announced that it had recovered a "flying disc." Only hours later the military changed its account and called the object a weather balloon. Within one day the public had two conflicting explanations from the same command structure.

The military was protecting a real secret. Project Mogul lifted trains of balloons carrying acoustic equipment high into the atmosphere to listen for signs of Soviet nuclear tests. Publishing the design of that equipment would also have published the way the United States watched its rival. "Weather balloon" was a convenient answer, but it misstated the true purpose of the flight.