WASHINGTON (Reuters) – NASA said on Thursday it has appointed a new director for research into what the government calls an “unidentified anomalous phenomenon,” or UAP, while the head of the US space agency said an expert panel urging more fact-finding into the matter had not been met. No evidence of extraterrestrial origin has been found for these objects.
Administrator Bill Nelson announced the new research chief — though he did not reveal the person’s identity — after an independent panel of experts recommended that NASA increase its efforts to gather information about UAPs and play a greater role in helping the Pentagon detect them. UAP are better known to the public as unidentified flying objects, or unidentified flying objects (UFOs).
During a press conference, Nelson also expressed his personal opinion that life exists outside Earth.
“There is a universal fascination with the UAP. On my travels, one of the first questions I often ask is about these sightings. Much of this fascination is due to their unknown nature,” Nelson said.
Nelson added: “If you ask me do I believe in the existence of life in a universe so vast that it is difficult for me to understand how huge this life is, my personal answer is: yes.”
In the past few years, the United States government has disclosed much of the information it has collected regarding a subject that was previously met with virtual official silence. The government released a detailed report in 2021, compiled by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in cooperation with a Navy-led task force that includes numerous observations — mostly from military personnel — of the UAP.
“NASA’s mission is to discover the unknown,” Nelson said.
“We will tell you everything we find,” Nelson added, pledging transparency in any discoveries.
The NASA committee, which includes experts in scientific fields ranging from physics to astrobiology, released the report after holding its first public meeting in June.
“NASA’s independent study team found no evidence that UAP has an extraterrestrial origin, but we don’t know what these UAPs are,” Nelson said, adding that NASA’s goal is to “shift the conversation about UAP from excitement to talk about UAP.” Sciences.”
Workers pressure wash the NASA logo on the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, May 19, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo Obtaining licensing rights
NASA said the new director of UAP research will assume “central communications, resources, and data analytical capabilities to create a robust database for future UAP evaluation.”
“vital role”
“NASA has a diverse array of existing and planned Earth and space observation assets, along with an extensive archive of historical and existing data sets, which should be directly leveraged to understand the UAP,” the committee report said.
“Although NASA’s fleet of Earth observation satellites typically lacks the spatial resolution to detect relatively small objects like UAPs, their modern sensors can be used directly to explore local ground state, oceanic and atmospheric conditions,” which are spatially and temporally synchronized with UAPs. Which was initially discovered through other methods. “Therefore, NASA assets can play a vital role by directly determining whether specific environmental factors are associated with certain reported UAP behaviors or events.”
The new report described UAPs as “one of our planet’s greatest mysteries.”
“Objects have been observed in our skies that cannot be identified as balloons, airplanes, or known natural phenomena around the world, yet there are limited high-quality observations. The nature of science is to explore the unknown, and data is the language scientists use to discover the secrets of our universe,” the report states. .
“Despite numerous calculations and visualizations, the absence of consistent, detailed and coordinated observations means that we do not currently have the data set necessary to reach definitive scientific conclusions about UAP,” she added.
The 2021 report included some UAP instances that previously came to light in the Pentagon’s release of a video from naval aviators showing mysterious aircraft off the east and west coasts of the United States displaying speed and maneuverability beyond known flight techniques and lacking any visible means of propulsion or flight control. Surfaces. The report said defense and intelligence analysts lacked sufficient data to determine the nature of some objects.
The NASA committee studying UAPs held its first public meeting in June, and includes experts in scientific fields ranging from physics to astrobiology. The Challenge Committee members who cited their work included the stigma associated with the subject as well as the scarcity of scientifically reliable methods for documenting UFOs.
Two senior US defense intelligence officials told a 2022 congressional hearing that the Pentagon was committed to identifying the origins of UAPs. Another congressional hearing was held in July, which included testimony from retired military personnel, although no government officials were present.
Joey Roulette reports. Edited by Will Dunham
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