After months of work, the report by a group of eminent scientists and aviation experts recommended that NASA play "a leading role" in the future in the study of UFOs -- renamed "unidentified anomalous phenomena" (UAP).
In the process, NASA announced the creation of a director in charge of research on these phenomena. However, the name of the person in this new role has not yet been revealed, for fear that he or she could face harassment, as was the case for the 16 authors of the report.
The work, commissioned by NASA from an independent panel in June, marks "the first time NASA has taken a concrete step to seriously address" these unexplained events, Bill Nelson, the head of the space agency, said at a press conference.
The goal is for the debate to move "from the terrain of sensationalism to that of science," he said. "We don't know what these unidentified anomalous phenomena are, but we'll try to find out."
More data needed
NASA defines these phenomena as "events in the sky that cannot be scientifically identified as an aircraft or a known natural phenomenon".
Most of the strange sightings, reported in particular by pilots, "are explainable," David Spergel, an astrophysicist in charge of chairing the work of the group of experts, said Thursday. They often turn out to be "planes, balloons, drones, weather phenomena," or related to the observation instruments themselves, he said.
But some remain unexplained.
According to the report, this is largely due to the lack of accurate data available for each event.
The experts therefore call for a "rigorous data collection campaign". "The importance of detecting" these phenomena with "multiple and well-calibrated sensors is paramount," and NASA has a great deal of "expertise" in this area, he said.
For example, NASA can observe whether certain weather phenomena coincide with the observation of these phenomena, the report says. According to some experts, new physical phenomena could also be discovered, which would explain certain phenomena.
The report also recommends that the general public be more involved, for example with the development of an application to collect recordings taken with mobile phones.
NASA will work to collect more data, including through observations from citizens and pilots, Nicola Fox, associate administrator in charge of science at NASA, said Thursday.
"We want private, commercial and military pilots to know that if they see something, they have to say it," she said.
Ideas
U.S. intelligence and the Pentagon have also recently addressed the issue, which concerns both national security and air traffic.
The purpose of this report, however, was not to review events already observed one by one in an attempt to explain them, but to make recommendations on how to study them rigorously in the future.
The experts, who also advocate the use of artificial intelligence for data analysis, have only worked from public (unclassified) information, to be able to discuss it freely.
NASA insisted on this desire for transparency, necessary according to it to fight against preconceived ideas related to the word UFO (for "unidentified flying objects").
In the current state of knowledge, "we have no evidence suggesting" that the observed phenomena "are of extraterrestrial origin," said David Spergel.
The head of the US space agency also wanted to dispel accusations of concealment against the US government: "whatever we find, we will say it," he promised.
"If you ask me if I think there is life in a universe so vast that it is difficult for me to conceive of it, my personal answer is yes."
© 2023 AFP