NASA announced Thursday that the search for aliens will require new scientific techniques, including advanced satellites, as well as changes in how we perceive unidentified flying objects. The space agency released the findings of a long-running study on UFOs .
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In a 33-page report, an independent panel commissioned by NASA warned that negative perceptions about UFOs are hindering data collection. However, officials said NASA's involvement should help reduce the fear surrounding UAPs, or unidentified anomalous phenomena.
"We want to shift the conversation about UAPs from fear to science," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, who promised an open and transparent approach.
Officials stressed that the committee had not found any evidence of an extraterrestrial presence. However, Nelson admitted that with countless stars in countless galaxies out there, another Earth could exist.
“If you ask me, do I believe there is life in a universe that is so vast that it is difficult for me to comprehend how big it is, my personal answer is yes,” Nelson said at a press conference. His own scientists estimate the probability of life on another Earth-like planet at “at least one in a trillion.”
When Nelson was pressed by reporters about whether the US or other governments are hiding aliens or spaceships from another world, he responded with determination: "Please provide me with the evidence."
NASA has stated that it is not actively pursuing unexplained sightings. There is a fleet of spacecraft orbiting Earth that could help determine an unexplained phenomenon.
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The 16-member committee noted that artificial intelligence and machine learning are essential for identifying rare phenomena, including UFOs.
NASA recently appointed a UAP research director, but declined to reveal his identity during a press conference Thursday morning, hoping to avoid the threats and harassment that committee members have faced during the study.
Eight hours later, NASA said Mark McInerney is the person in charge, having previously served as the space agency's liaison to the Department of Defense on UAPs. He has also worked with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Hurricane Center.
The panel members, experts in aviation and artificial intelligence, as well as Scott Kelly, a retired NASA astronaut and the first American to spend nearly a year in space, did not have access to any highly classified files. Instead, the team relied on unclassified data in an attempt to better understand observations of mysterious phenomena in the sky.
Officials said there are few high-quality observations, making it difficult to draw scientific conclusions. The committee's chairman, David Spergel, president of the Simons Foundation, a scientific research group, said most of the events can be attributed to airplanes, drones, weather balloons or weather conditions.
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The government refers to the unexplained phenomena as Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs), rather than UFOs. NASA describes sightings in the sky or elsewhere that cannot be easily identified or explained scientifically. The study began a year ago and cost less than $100,000.
