NASA creates a separate group to investigate inexplicable UFO sightings
As part of a new drive toward high-risk, high-impact science, NASA is starting a study concerning UFOs.
On Thursday, NASA announced the formation of an independent team to assess how much material is publicly available on the subject and how much more is required to fully comprehend the unexplained occurrences. The specialists will also think about how to best use all of this data in the future.
A tray of glass tubes is displayed. Three tubes have earth in them, and one of them has produced a little plant.
Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA‘s science mission commander, acknowledged that the traditional scientific community may view NASA’s involvement in the contentious topic as “sort of selling out,” but he strongly disagrees.
“We are not afraid of reputational damage,” Zurbuchen stated during a webcast hosted by the National Academy of Sciences. “We are convinced that the most difficult aspect of these phenomena is the lack of data.”
NASA sees this as a first step in explaining mysterious sky sightings known as UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomena).
The research will begin this fall and last for nine months, with a budget of $100,000. There will be no classified military data used, and it will be completely transparent.
NASA announced that astrophysicist David Spergel, head of the Simons Foundation for Advancing Scientific Research, will lead the team. Spergel noted during a press conference that his only preconceived thought going into the investigation was that the UAPs would most likely have several explanations.
“All of these questions must be approached with humility,” Spergel remarked. “I worked as a cosmologist for the majority of my career. I can tell you that we have no idea what makes up 95% of the cosmos. As a result, there are some things we don’t comprehend.”
