In the interest of national security, the American space agency is now also dedicating itself to unidentified flying objects. For scientific statements, however, the data is very sparse.
Ever since a resident of the American village of Rachel (Nevada) reported a strange flying object, UFO fever has broken out in the village. Recording from 2002.
Since the US Department of Defense published a report on UFOs last summer, sky gazers and alien enthusiasts have not been able to rest. In May, the congress on the phenomenon even met. Now, after the political, media and social hype, comes the research: The American space agency Nasa commissions a scientific study on UFOs. The authority said this in a Thursday evening media release announced.
As a precaution, NASA, like the military, calls UFOs “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena” (UAP). And like other government agencies, Nasa emphasizes that there is no evidence that UAP have an “extraterrestrial origin”.
NASA is now dealing with the phenomenon because it is “in the interest of national security”. This is not only about secure air corridors for aircraft, but also about espionage activities. UFOs, it has been suspected for decades, could be missiles from enemy countries. Finding out as much as possible about them could therefore be of strategic interest.
No standardized data collection for UFO sightings
However, according to NASA, the scientific evaluation of UFO sightings will be difficult because the researchers lacked a lot of data. According to the Pentagon report, around 140 objects were seen between 2004 and 2021, the origin of which could not be explained. There is video footage of some, but no standardized data has been collected. That should complicate any serious research project.
Declassified US Navy videos showing unidentified flying objects. The recordings are from the years 2004 and 2015.
Nevertheless, Nasa feels up to the challenge. “We have the instruments and the teams that can help us to better understand the unknown,” NASA quoted research director Thomas Zurbuchen as saying. One of the main concerns of the study is, however, to collect recommendations from experts on how data can be better collected for future UFO sightings.
The study is scheduled to begin in the fall and run for around nine months. According to a report by the New York Times, the project was budgeted at less than $100,000.
Science has been researching extraterrestrial life for a long time, and NASA is also doing one of its own Astrobiology program life on alien planets. In recent years, however, unidentified flying objects have mostly been examined by groups that lack scientific standards.