Science

NASA program to investigate UFOs, with all data to be made public

A still of an unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) from a video recorded by US Navy fighter jets in 2015
United States Navy
A still of an unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) from a video recorded by US Navy fighter jets in 2015
United States Navy

Strange sights in the skies have been reported for centuries, but these UFOs have rarely been taken seriously by the scientific community. Following on from a recent hearing by the United States Congress into “unidentified aerial phenomena” (UAPs), NASA has now announced that it’s commissioning a team to investigate the mystery.

Long the realm of conspiracy crackpots, UFOs have had a bit of a resurgence in recent years. In 2017 the New York Times published three videos recorded by instruments onboard US Navy fighter jets that appeared to show objects moving through the skies at great speed and pulling off maneuvers that should be impossible for known aircraft. A few years later, the Pentagon confirmed their authenticity and formally released the videos.

In 2021, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) produced an official report on the subject, now rebranded as UAPs. The report proposed five categories of possible explanations: airborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, technology from the US government or industry, foreign aircraft, and a catch-all “Other” designation. Earlier this year, Congress held hearings into UAPs based on this report.

All this renewed attention on the subject has now culminated in NASA joining the hunt. Although it’s a government agency, NASA’s team will operate independently of the Department of Defense programs. It will be led by astrophysicist David Spergel, and orchestrated by Daniel Evans, assistant deputy associate administrator for research at NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.

The aerial phenomena study will focus on identifying data already available, the best ways to collect data in the future, and how that data can be analyzed to better understand UAPs. Experts in science, aeronautics and data analytics will be consulted.

“Given the paucity of observations, our first task is simply to gather the most robust set of data that we can,” said Spergel. “We will be identifying what data – from civilians, government, non-profits, companies – exists, what else we should try to collect, and how to best analyze it.”

NASA estimates that the project will take about nine months to complete, and the report and all data gathered throughout will be made public.

It’s best to temper expectations about those findings, especially any assumptions of extraterrestrial origins. But regardless, NASA getting onboard is a major step, and the results should provide some fascinating insights into this long-standing mystery.

“Unidentified phenomena in the atmosphere are of interest for many reasons,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters. “Frankly, I think there’s new science to be discovered. Many times where something that looked almost magical turned out to be a new scientific effect. But there’s also national security and air safety issues that relate to these observations. And establishing whether they’re natural or need to be explained otherwise, is very much aligned with NASA’s goals.”

An audio recording of a teleconference discussing the new study can be heard in the video below.

Source: NASA

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8 comments
RobWoods
This won't result in anything more than what has already been released, because UFO's have always been covered up and will continue to be so. All will come of this is just more Government natural phenomena explanations, etc. and continued blocking of the real truth.
Perr_M
There are many agendas in play in ufology. NASA will only deliver opinions of events being everything except ET, interdimensional, extra-universal, or intra-terrestrial. I will be shocked if they do anything differently than the DOD status quo. I am a serious Ufologist for over 45 years now with 11 sightings of my own and have researched and interviewed thousands of cases on every aspect of this field. The truth is out there...we'll see if NASA and the DOD will deliver any of it to us!
Captain Obvious
True believers will always believe that the "truth was covered up."
michael_dowling
RobWoods This is the first time the Pentagon has admitted that the sightings are physical objects. Seeing as they move in ways that are impossible to explain with current physics,that doesn't leave many possible explanations. New science to be discovered indeed.
joe46
maybe someone's finally figured out Nicola Tesla's "flying machine" or professor searl's IGV(Inverse Gravity Vehicle) The US government apparently showed a lot of interest in their work at the time.
Stjepan Vuksanovic
It's just show for public and everyone who doesn't use his own brain😤🥱
Erik
Well this isn't going to change much of anything for people even if the government actually says it's aliens.
windykites
Governments do not have a monopoly on UFO data. Most sightings are by ordinary people, and are investigated by UFO organisations, which share this information with no secrecy. Governments do not understand and cannot explain where UFOs come from, so appear to be hiding information. If they knew how they operated, then they would have built replicas, which clearly, they have not. Why still bother with jet engines? What did Bob Lazar learn? Did he manage to 'back engineer' a UFO power plant? The answer has to be no!