NASA’s independent study team will examine unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) from a scientific perspective. It will focus on identifying available data, how best to collect future data, and how NASA can use that data to move the scientific understanding of UAPs forward.
An UAP from a declassified video captured by a U.S. Navy aircraft. Image credit: U.S. Navy.
UAPs, popularly known as UFOs, are observations of events in the sky that cannot be identified as aircraft or known natural phenomena. They are of interest for both national security and air safety.
Establishing which events are natural provides a key first step to identifying or mitigating such phenomena, which aligns with one of NASA’s goals to ensure the safety of aircraft.
“NASA believes that the tools of scientific discovery are powerful and apply here also,” said Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters.
“We have access to a broad range of observations of Earth from space — and that is the lifeblood of scientific inquiry.”
“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.”
The UAP study team will be led by Dr. David Spergel, an astrophysicist and president of the Simons Foundation.
Dr. Daniel Evans, the assistant deputy associate administrator for research at NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, will serve as the NASA official responsible for orchestrating the study.
“Given the paucity of observations, our first task is simply to gather the most robust set of data that we can,” Dr. Spergel said.
“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.”
The UAP study is expected to take about nine months to complete.
It will secure the counsel of experts in the scientific, aeronautics, and data analytics communities to focus on how best to collect new data and improve observations of the aerial phenomena.
“Consistent with NASA’s principles of openness, transparency, and scientific integrity, this report will be shared publicly,” Dr. Evans said.
“All of NASA’s data are available to the public — we take that obligation seriously — and we make it easily accessible for anyone to see or study.”
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This article is based on text provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Source link: https://www.sci.news/astronomy/nasa-unidentified-aerial-phenomena-team-10891.html
