Everyone who has traveled to space has sought answers to the most fundamental questions, including the most pressing one – are we alone in the universe? Here’s what Russian and former Soviet astronauts have said over the years.
Vladimir Kovalenok: “Perhaps it was a UFO [Unidentified Flying Object], but it couldn’t be anything supernatural.”
According to Russia Beyond, in May 1981, Soviet astronaut Vladimir Kovalenok was aboard the “Salyut-6” space station when he witnessed a strange object, which was only the size of a human finger.
Soviet astronaut Vladimir Kovalenok.
“I was very surprised it was flying on its own orbit,” Kovalenok recounted about a cone-shaped, translucent object resembling a glove at the front.
Kovalenok called his colleague Viktor Savinykh, who confirmed seeing the object. However, neither could photograph it, as by the time Savinykh went to get the camera, the object had exploded, leaving only a trail of smoke.
“It split into two connected pieces, somewhat like a dumbbell. I immediately reported this to Earth,” Kovalenok recalled.
Kovalenok himself could not be certain about the origin of the object, “but it couldn’t be anything supernatural, as later two more people reported seeing this phenomenon.”
Upon returning to Earth, Kovalenok added that “the radiation monitoring specialists recorded a spike” following the explosion.
Aleksey Leonov: “Some comets are nothing more than surveillance ships from other solar systems.”
According to Russia Beyond, Aleksey Leonov – a famous Soviet astronaut – was one of the first to explore space, alongside Yuri Gagarin. Leonov claimed that the existence of life beyond Earth can at least be indirectly demonstrated through the existence of comets.
Soviet astronaut Aleksey Leonov. (Photo: Getty Images).
“Whenever they are near the Sun, comets consume a significant amount of material to create their tails. Accordingly, if we know the mass of the comet and its tail, we can easily extrapolate its lifespan. During this time, it must have burned out. But if it disappears, then reappears – the logic falls apart. Clearly, somewhere along their journey through space, lasting 100, 200, or 300 years, comets undergo processes that we are unaware of,” Leonov stated.
Leonov questioned the origin of comets. If they were born alongside their respective solar systems – which are themselves at least 4.5 billion years old – then they should have been burned out. There are several hypotheses explaining why this might occur, but Leonov proposed a different explanation: “Some comets are nothing more than surveillance ships from other solar systems. And this hypothesis has a right to exist.”
Anton Shkaplerov: “I have never seen aliens, but I believe they exist.”
According to Russia Beyond, Russian astronaut Anton Shkaplerov has spent 4 hours on the International Space Station (ISS) and has made 3 spacewalks. He believes that humanity being alone in the vast, infinite universe is simply impossible – even though we have yet to see convincing evidence.
Russian astronaut Anton Shkaplerov. (Photo: Roscosmos).
Shkaplerov stated: “We have never seen God, but we know that He sees us and protects us, that’s for sure. I have never seen aliens, but I believe they certainly exist. How can we be alone in an endless space like the universe?”
Yuri Glazkov: “I don’t know about aliens, but we will definitely discover traces of previously unknown civilizations.”
According to Russia Beyond, Yuri Glazkov – another Soviet astronaut – once said that aliens not only exist but have left their traces in our solar system – in the form of Pluto.
Soviet astronaut Yuri Glazkov.
Glazkov believes that 74 million years ago, Mars and Jupiter were actually a single planet before it was destroyed. He stated: “Evidence of this can be seen in the composition of the meteorites that fall.”
“There is a hypothesis that evolution on that planet must have reached its peak, but this very planet exploded, and its civilization simply became dust, wandering in the endless space of the universe,” Glazkov added.
Although astronaut Glazkov spent only 2 days in space, he had much to say about the possibility of life existing there.
“Can we propose that extraterrestrial civilizations exist? Of course, we can. Until the uniqueness of Earth is proven, such a hypothesis has a right to exist,” Glazkov said.
“As for UFOs, we cannot deny their existence – not after thousands of eyewitness accounts. We can speculate that they appear due to special optical effects in the atmosphere, but some of their characteristics simply baffle people: for example, the ability to change direction suddenly by making a 90-degree turn at high speed,” Glazkov pondered.
