NASA to Study Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

The truth is out there, and NASA intends to find it.

NASA is set to join the hunt for unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP): The agency on Thursday announced a new study focused on using data to advance the scientific understanding of UAPs.

A team of researchers will examine recordings of mysterious skybound events in an effort to draw scientific conclusions about UAPs and ensure national security and air safety.

"Given the paucity of observations, our first task is simply to gather the most robust set of data that we can," team leader David Spergel, former chair of the Princeton University astrophysics department, said in a statement(Opens in a new window). "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."

Unidentified phenomena in the atmosphere—for which there is no evidence suggesting extraterrestrial origins—is of particular interest for national security and air safety, according to NASA. After all, establishing which events are natural is the first step toward identifying and mitigating those that are not.

"We have access to a broad range of observations of Earth from space—and that is the lifeblood of scientific inquiry," Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA HQ, said. "We have the tools and team who can help us improve our understanding of the unknown. That's the very definition of what science is. That's what we do."

Daniel Evans, assistant deputy associate administrator for research at NASA's Science Mission Directorate, serves as the official responsible for orchestrating the study, which is expected to take about nine months. The team, whose members (other than Spergel) have not yet been revealed, will consist of experts in the scientific, aeronautics, and data analytics communities.

NASA is not part of the Department of Defense's Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, or its successor, the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group. The agency did, however, commission the 1960 Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs, known as the Brookings Report(Opens in a new window), which briefly considers the likely social impact the discovery of alien life would have on public attitudes.

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