All those who have ever flown into space have sought answers to the most fundamental questions, including the most pressing one – are we alone in space? And this is what Russian and former Soviet astronauts have been saying for years.
Vladimir Kovalenok: “It was probably a UFO [unidentified flying object], but it couldn’t have been anything supernatural.”
According to Russia Beyond, in May 1981, Soviet astronaut Vladimir Kovalenok was on the “Salyut-6” space station when he witnessed a strange, unidentified object about the size of a human finger.
Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Kovalenok.
“I was very surprised that it was flying in its own orbit,” Kovalenok said of a spacecraft or melon-shaped object with a translucent cone-like shape, resembling a glove at the front.
Kovalenok called his colleague Viktor Savinykh, who confirmed seeing the object. However, neither of them could photograph it, because by the time Savinykh went to get his camera, the object had exploded, leaving only a trail of smoke.
“It split into two pieces that were connected, somewhat like a bell-shaped dumbbell. I immediately reported that to Earth,” astronaut Kovalenok recalled.
Kovalenok himself couldn’t be sure about the object’s origin, “but it couldn’t be anything supernatural, since two more people later claimed to have seen the phenomenon.”
Upon returning to Earth, Kovalenok added that “experts in charge of radiation monitoring have noted a surge” in the explosion.
Aleksey Leonov: “Some comets are nothing more than observer spacecraft from other solar systems.”
According to Russia Beyond, Aleksey Leonov – a famous Soviet cosmonaut – was one of the first to explore space, along with Yuri Gagarin. Leonov claimed that the existence of extraterrestrial life could at least be indirectly proven by the existence of comets.
Soviet cosmonaut Aleksey Leonov. (Photo: Getty Images).
“Whenever they are near the Sun, comets expend a significant amount of matter to create their tails. Therefore, if we know the mass of the comet and its tail, we can easily extrapolate its lifespan. During that time, it must burn up completely. But if it disappears and then reappears – the logic is flawed. Clearly, somewhere in their space journey, lasting 100, 200, or 300 years, comets undergo processes that we are unaware of,” Leonov stated.
Astronaut Leonov questioned the origin of comets. If they were born alongside their respective solar systems – which are themselves no less than 4.5 billion years old – then they would have been burned up. There are several theories explaining why this happened, but Leonov offered a different explanation: “Some comets are nothing more than observer vessels from other solar systems. And this theory 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 spent four hours on the International Space Station (ISS) and performed three spacewalks. He believes that it is simply impossible for humans to be alone in the vast, endless universe – although we have yet to see convincing evidence.
Russian astronaut Anton Shkaplerov. (Photo: Roscosmos).
Shkaplerov said: “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 definitely exist. How can we be alone in an infinite space like the universe?”
Yuri Glazkov: “I don’t know about aliens , but we will certainly discover traces of previously unknown civilizations.”
According to Russia Beyond, Yuri Glazkov, another Soviet astronaut, once said that extraterrestrial beings not only exist but have left their mark on our solar system – in the form of Pluto.
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Glazkov.
Glazkov believes that 74 million years ago, Mars and Jupiter were actually a single planet before it was destroyed. He says, “Evidence of this can be seen in the composition of fallen meteorites.”
“There is a theory that evolution on that planet must have reached its peak, but the planet itself exploded and its civilization simply turned to dust, wandering in the endless expanse of the universe,” Glazkov added.
Although astronaut Glazkov only spent two days in space, he had much to say about the possibility of life existing there.
“Is it possible to suggest that extraterrestrial civilizations exist? Of course, it is possible. Until the uniqueness of Earth is proven, such a hypothesis must have a right to exist,” Glazkov said.
“Regarding UFOs, we cannot deny their existence – not after thousands of witness 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 suddenly change direction by making a 90-degree turn at high speed,” Glazkov wondered.
