Andrew Wulfeck - 4h ago
The United States’ space agency announced it has selected 16 individuals to participate in the much-awaited study of unidentified aerial phenomena, or what are more commonly referred to as UFOs.
The team will kick off the study Monday and is scheduled to spend nine months reviewing previous observations and determining how to analyze data on future events.
The study will not determine if past reports of UFOs were legitimate but will pave the way for understanding what observations will be needed in future events to better understand the phenomena.
"Exploring the unknown in space and the atmosphere is at the heart of who we are at NASA," Thomas Zurbuchen, an associate administrator at NASA, said in a statement. "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."
The United States’ space agency announced it has selected 16 individuals to participate in the much-awaited study of unidentified aerial phenomena, or what are more commonly referred to as UFOs.
The team will kick off the study Monday and is scheduled to spend nine months reviewing previous observations and determining how to analyze data on future events.
The study will not determine if past reports of UFOs were legitimate but will pave the way for understanding what observations will be needed in future events to better understand the phenomena.
"Exploring the unknown in space and the atmosphere is at the heart of who we are at NASA," Thomas Zurbuchen, an associate administrator at NASA, said in a statement. "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."
HASTINGS MESA, UFO-like sunset over Hastings Mesa, between Ridgway and Telluride Colorado , resembles a spaceship landing.
Photo by: Joe Sohm/Visions of America/
The members come from various backgrounds and includes former astronaut Scott Kelly. Kelly served as a pilot of Space Shuttle Discovery and once held the record for spending the most days in space.
Kelly has long believed that UFO sightings from Earth are not any type of alien-related event but told FOX News in 2018 that there is likely life beyond Earth.
"I think there is probably life in the universe. Hopefully intelligent life, but I don’t think they visit planet Earth," Kelly said.
"NASA has brought together some of the world’s leading scientists, data and artificial intelligence practitioners, aerospace safety experts, all with a specific charge, which is to tell us how to apply the full focus of science and data to UAP," Evans stated. "The findings will be released to the public in conjunction with NASA’s principles of transparency, openness, and scientific integrity."
NASA believes studying unidentified objects is essential for both air safety and national security. The agency said without having access to needed data, it is nearly impossible to verify a sighting and determine what’s behind the mystery.
The independent group is only one part of several ongoing missions that are constantly working to find signs of life in the universe.
The group’s independent findings are not expected to be released before mid-2023.
NASA UFO study team includes former astronaut, scientists and more
Mike Wall - SPACE.COM
NASA's highly anticipated UFO study is about to begin, and we now know who will conduct it.
An unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP), as captured by
Anamaria Berea, associate professor of computational and data science at George Mason University, research affiliate with the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, and research investigator with Blue Marble Space Institute of Science in Seattle;
Federica Bianco, joint professor at the University of Delaware in the Department of Physics and Astrophysics, the Biden School of Public Policy and Administration and the Urban Observatory;
Paula Bontempi, dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island (URI) and a professor of oceanography at URI;
Reggie Brothers, operating partner at AE Industrial Partners in Boca Raton, Florida and formerly CEO and board member of BigBear.ai in Columbia, Maryland;
Jen Buss, CEO of the Potomac Institute of Policy Studies in Arlington, Virginia;
Nadia Drake, freelance science journalist and contributing writer at National Geographic;
Mike Gold, executive vice president of Civil Space and External Affairs at Redwire in Jacksonville, Florida and previously NASA associate administrator for Space Policy and Partnerships;
David Grinspoon, senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, and a frequent advisor to NASA on space exploration;
Scott Kelly, former NASA astronaut, test pilot, fighter pilot and retired U.S. Navy captain;
Matt Mountain, president of The Association of Universities for Research and Astronomy and a telescope scientist for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope;
Warren Randolph, deputy executive director of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Accident Investigation and Prevention for Aviation Safety department;
Walter Scott, executive vice president and chief technology officer at the space technology company Maxar;
Joshua Semeter, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Boston University and director of the school's Center for Space Physics;
Karlin Toner, acting executive director of the FAA's Office of Aviation Policy and Plans and formerly director of the FAA's global strategy;
Mike Wall - SPACE.COM
NASA's highly anticipated UFO study is about to begin, and we now know who will conduct it.
An unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP), as captured by
the sensors of a U.S. Navy jet.© DoD/US Navy
In June, the space agency announced that it had commissioned a panel to investigate UFOs, or, as they have recently been rebranded, "unidentified aerial phenomena" (UAP). The independent study will begin in the fall, cost less than $100,000 and last about nine months from start to finish, NASA officials said at the time.
Fall has arrived, and so has the study's start date — nearly, anyway. The panel will begin its work on Monday (Oct. 24), NASA officials wrote in an update today (Oct. 21).
Related: NASA hopes new study helps bring UFO research into the mainstream
The study doesn't aim to be the last word on UFOs. It will look at previously collected UAP observations (the unclassified ones only, leaving out sensitive military data), focusing on how they could be better organized and analyzed in the future to shed more light on mysterious sky sights.
"Exploring the unknown in space and the atmosphere is at the heart of who we are at NASA," Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) at NASA headquarters, said in today's update.
"Understanding the data we have surrounding unidentified aerial phenomena is critical to helping us draw scientific conclusions about what is happening in our skies," he added. "Data is the language of scientists and makes the unexplainable explainable."
We already knew that the study team will be chaired by astrophysicist David Spergel, president of the Simons Foundation, and that the NASA official orchestrating the effort is Daniel Evans, the assistant deputy associate administrator for research at the SMD.
But today's update revealed the full team. There will be 16 investigators from a variety of fields, from astronomy to oceanography to computer science to journalism. There's even a former NASA astronaut in the bunch.
In addition to Spergel, the team members are (in alphabetical order):
In June, the space agency announced that it had commissioned a panel to investigate UFOs, or, as they have recently been rebranded, "unidentified aerial phenomena" (UAP). The independent study will begin in the fall, cost less than $100,000 and last about nine months from start to finish, NASA officials said at the time.
Fall has arrived, and so has the study's start date — nearly, anyway. The panel will begin its work on Monday (Oct. 24), NASA officials wrote in an update today (Oct. 21).
Related: NASA hopes new study helps bring UFO research into the mainstream
The study doesn't aim to be the last word on UFOs. It will look at previously collected UAP observations (the unclassified ones only, leaving out sensitive military data), focusing on how they could be better organized and analyzed in the future to shed more light on mysterious sky sights.
"Exploring the unknown in space and the atmosphere is at the heart of who we are at NASA," Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) at NASA headquarters, said in today's update.
"Understanding the data we have surrounding unidentified aerial phenomena is critical to helping us draw scientific conclusions about what is happening in our skies," he added. "Data is the language of scientists and makes the unexplainable explainable."
We already knew that the study team will be chaired by astrophysicist David Spergel, president of the Simons Foundation, and that the NASA official orchestrating the effort is Daniel Evans, the assistant deputy associate administrator for research at the SMD.
But today's update revealed the full team. There will be 16 investigators from a variety of fields, from astronomy to oceanography to computer science to journalism. There's even a former NASA astronaut in the bunch.
In addition to Spergel, the team members are (in alphabetical order):
Anamaria Berea, associate professor of computational and data science at George Mason University, research affiliate with the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, and research investigator with Blue Marble Space Institute of Science in Seattle;
Federica Bianco, joint professor at the University of Delaware in the Department of Physics and Astrophysics, the Biden School of Public Policy and Administration and the Urban Observatory;
Paula Bontempi, dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island (URI) and a professor of oceanography at URI;
Reggie Brothers, operating partner at AE Industrial Partners in Boca Raton, Florida and formerly CEO and board member of BigBear.ai in Columbia, Maryland;
Jen Buss, CEO of the Potomac Institute of Policy Studies in Arlington, Virginia;
Nadia Drake, freelance science journalist and contributing writer at National Geographic;
Mike Gold, executive vice president of Civil Space and External Affairs at Redwire in Jacksonville, Florida and previously NASA associate administrator for Space Policy and Partnerships;
David Grinspoon, senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, and a frequent advisor to NASA on space exploration;
Scott Kelly, former NASA astronaut, test pilot, fighter pilot and retired U.S. Navy captain;
Matt Mountain, president of The Association of Universities for Research and Astronomy and a telescope scientist for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope;
Warren Randolph, deputy executive director of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Accident Investigation and Prevention for Aviation Safety department;
Walter Scott, executive vice president and chief technology officer at the space technology company Maxar;
Joshua Semeter, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Boston University and director of the school's Center for Space Physics;
Karlin Toner, acting executive director of the FAA's Office of Aviation Policy and Plans and formerly director of the FAA's global strategy;
Shelley Wright, associate professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego's Center for Astrophysics and Space Studies.
The above are shortened versions of the thumbnail bios given in today's NASA update. You can read the full versions in that post.
"NASA has brought together some of the world's leading scientists, data and artificial intelligence practitioners, [and] aerospace safety experts, all with a specific charge, which is to tell us how to apply the full focus of science and data to UAP," Evans said in the same statement.
The team's findings will be released to the public in mid-2023, when the study wraps up, NASA officials said.
Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or on Facebook.
The above are shortened versions of the thumbnail bios given in today's NASA update. You can read the full versions in that post.
"NASA has brought together some of the world's leading scientists, data and artificial intelligence practitioners, [and] aerospace safety experts, all with a specific charge, which is to tell us how to apply the full focus of science and data to UAP," Evans said in the same statement.
The team's findings will be released to the public in mid-2023, when the study wraps up, NASA officials said.
Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or on Facebook.
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