NASA to Hold First Public Meeting on UFO Study

A group of experts appointed by NASA last year to investigate “unidentified aerial phenomena,” which are often referred to as UFOs, is scheduled to have its inaugural public meeting on Wednesday.

The panel consists of 16 members with diverse backgrounds in fields like physics and astrobiology. They analyze UFO sightings and data gathered from civilian government and commercial sources.

This meeting, lasting four hours, will serve as the panel’s concluding discussions before they publish a report in the upcoming summer, as mentioned by NASA when announcing the event.

The first-ever official inquiry into the matter

The panel’s establishment marks the first-ever official inquiry conducted by the U.S. space agency on a topic that was once solely handled by military and national security authorities, shrouded in secrecy.

It is important to note that the NASA investigation is distinct from a newly established Pentagon-led examination of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs). These UAPs have been documented in recent years by military pilots and studied by U.S. defense and intelligence officials.

Both the NASA and Pentagon initiatives, though subject to some level of public scrutiny, signify a significant shift in the government’s approach.

For decades, the government had dismissed, discredited, and evaded reports of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) dating back to the 1940s. The concurrent efforts by NASA and the Pentagon underscore this turning point.

Unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP)

The term “UFOs,” which has been commonly linked to ideas of flying saucers and extraterrestrial beings, has now been replaced in official government language with “UAP” or unidentified anomalous phenomena.

Although certain individuals viewed NASA’s scientific mission as a potential avenue for a more receptive outlook regarding a subject that the defense sector has traditionally avoided, the U.S. space agency has been clear from the beginning that it is not hastily jumping to any conclusions.

AARO Director Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick’s presentation at the NASA UAP meeting.#ufotwitter #ufo #uap pic.twitter.com/IXK3i3jQuE

— UAP James (@UAPJames) May 31, 2023

In recent statements, the agency introduced a possible expansion to the UAP acronym, considering it an abbreviation for “unidentified anomalous phenomena.” This implies that the term could encompass sightings that extend beyond objects in flight.

However, NASA clarified in its announcement of Wednesday’s meeting that they define UAPs as observations of occurrences in the sky that cannot be identified as conventional aircraft or recognized natural phenomena based on scientific understanding.

Pentagon’s effort to investigate sightings

According to U.S. defense officials, the Pentagon’s recent efforts to investigate these sightings have resulted in the submission of hundreds of new reports, which are currently being examined. However, most of these reports still fall into pent unexplained phenomena.

The director of the Pentagon’s newly established All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office has stated that the possibility of intelligent alien life has not been dismissed. Nevertheless, it is important to note that no sighting has thus far provided concrete evidence of extraterrestrial origins.