NASA
NASA is the civilian space and aeronautics research agency of the United States. It comes up in the UAP topic because of its independent study team, which operated in 2022–2023, and that team's report.
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is a federal agency of the United States, established in 1958. It is responsible for civilian space research, aeronautics research and Earth observation programs. Its well-known programs include Apollo, the Space Shuttle program and a series of Mars probes. It operates separately from the research of the military and the intelligence community.
Role in the UAP topic
NASA does not conduct regular UFO or UAP research. In 1977, the Carter administration asked it to restart UFO investigations, but the agency declined because it saw no new physical evidence on which an investigation could be based.
In 2022, NASA set up an independent study team led by astrophysicist David Spergel to examine how unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) could be analyzed using scientific methods. The team did not investigate new sightings; instead, it evaluated the existing data and the options for future data collection. In May 2023, it held a public meeting where, among other things, it also analyzed the GoFast video. According to the report published in September 2023, the quantity and quality of the available data are not sufficient for well-founded conclusions. The report recommended better sensors, standardized data collection, the use of artificial intelligence, and reducing the stigma surrounding the topic so that pilots and other witnesses would be more willing to report their observations.
At the same time as the report, NASA also appointed a director of UAP research, Mark McInerney, who coordinates the agency's work in this area.
Official finding and skeptical positions
According to NASA's official finding, there is no evidence that UAP sightings are of extraterrestrial origin. The agency's leaders emphasized that the accessible data mostly do not allow sightings to be clearly identified.
Some researchers of the topic believe NASA's involvement raised the subject to a scientific level. Others believe the agency is too cautious or does not have access to military and intelligence data. Skeptics emphasize that most of the public data can be explained by ordinary causes.
Related stories
- The Varginha ET: how a rainy afternoon became Brazil’s Roswell
- Did a UFO nearly hit the ISS? What the video actually shows
- Who should collect space debris? A secret Cold War dispute in Washington
- Five cases from the UFO files – and five different answers
- The Belgian black triangle – Petit-Rechain, 1990
- What was that? Snowflakes in space – John Glenn and Scott Carpenter, 1962