Technology

NASA announces a team to do UFO research: What you need to know

Dristi SharmaOctober 26, 2022 | 18:03 IST

Sixteen people, including an astronaut, a space treaty drafter, a boxer and many astrobiologists have just been chosen by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the US to participate in its examination of unexplained aerial phenomena (UAP).

The members of the team started their work on Monday (October 24) and it will go on for nine months to evaluate unclassified data on UAPs and anomalous observations of objects acting strangely compared to what we are accustomed to.

But according to NASA, nothing will be made public until the whole study is made available in the middle of 2023.

Exploring the unknown in Understanding the data we have surrounding unidentified aerial phenomena is critical to helping us draw scientific conclusions about what is happening in our skies. Data is the language of scientists and makes the unexplainable, explainable.

- Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA

According to NASA, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena are of interest for both national security and air safety and the study aligns with one of NASA's goals to ensure the safety of aircraft. Without access to an extensive set of data, it is nearly impossible to verify or explain any observation, thus the focus of the study is to inform NASA what possible data could be collected in the future to scientifically discern the nature of UAP.

UAP mystery? Numerous studies on UAPs have been conducted by different branches of the US government, including a Pentagon paper that was declassified in June 2021, but none have provided the general public with a clear explanation of what the UAPs may be.

Any observed aerial phenomena that cannot be quickly recognised or explained is known as UAP.

According to Zurbuchen, this will help officials at NASA who have been considering how to investigate UAPs in a formal manner for a while, but they wanted to make sure they went about it the proper way.

In an image from video footage from 2015, an unexplained object is seen at the centre as it soars among the clouds, travelling against the wind/AFP

Meet the team which will be studying the UAPs:

Astrophysicist David Spergel will lead the team.
Astrobiologist Anamaria Berea
SETI researcher and astrophysicist Shelley Wright
Former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly
Satellite technology leader Walter Scott
Astrophysicist, data scientist, and boxer Federica Bianco
Astrophysicist David Grinspoon
Oceanographer Paula Bontempi
Technology and government industry leader Reggie Brothers
Technology-trend analyst Jen Buss
Artemis Accords leader Mike Gold
Science journalist Nadia Drake
Telescope scientist Matt Mountain
Aeronautics expert Karlin Toner
Former aerodynamicist for the US Coast Guard and U.S. Air Force, Warren Randolph
Ionosphere researcher Joshua Semester.

Last updated: October 26, 2022 | 18:03

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