Are there UFOs, and what is behind the reports over the years of unidentified objects appearing from time to time in our skies? NASA is trying to shift the focus of these intriguing questions from conspiratorial discourse to the field of orderly and professional discussion of science. On Wednesday, for the first time, the space agency held a public discussion on the issue, with the participation of a panel of experts, which was broadcast live to the whole world.
In June 2022, NASA formed a special team of experts from fields such as physics and astrobiology to investigate various reports of unidentified objects observed in the sky, and to try to answer the question of whether these reports constitute evidence of the existence of UFOs, or at least provide a more scientific framework for examining these reports.
Photo: Reuters
A four-hour discussion was held today, ahead of a final report to be published next month. In his opening remarks, Panel Chairman David Spergel emphasized the importance of engaging scientifically with the unresolved issue.
"Understand the world around us"
"This study provides us with an opportunity to understand the world around us. As an organization that helps explore the unknown, this kind of research is in our DNA. In addition, the presence of unidentified objects in the sky raises concerns about the safety of our skies, and it is our duty as a state to find out whether these bodies pose a danger to the safety of airspace. For this purpose, it is important to apply scientific glasses to the study of this phenomenon, since the rigid and fact-based approach of science makes it possible to distinguish between facts and fiction," he said.
Spergel said the panelists have been subjected to harassment and harassment in recent months for their involvement in the team, apparently from conspiracy theorists who believe the team is yet another attempt by the government to cover up the issue.
In addition to the NASA panel, the US Pentagon also addressed the issue and established a body within the ministry to investigate military personnel' reports of unidentified objects. At a public congressional hearing last month — a precedent-setting event in itself on such an issue — Sean Kirkpatrick, who heads the investigative body, noted that some 650 pieces of evidence had been examined, but none of them testified to the existence of UFOs, and almost all of them stemmed from balloons, drones, natural phenomena or optical illusions. Only two documented observations were classified as "anomalous."
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