A panel of independent scientists and experts tasked by NASA with probing the origins of numerous reports of sightings of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, known as UAP or UFOs, said on Thursday that no evidence has been found to suggest that unexplained lights in the sky are evidence of visitors from another world.
However, at a press briefing at the space agency’s headquarters in Washington, DC, NASA scientist Dan Evans admitted that the “presence of UAP raises serious concerns about the safety of our skies” and that it is of utmost importance to determine if “these phenomena pose any potential risks to airspace safety.”
The 16-person panel was convened by the agency last year amid a wave of public interest in the subject, particularly after the US government declassified a trove of footage appearing to show various unidentified objects performing physics-defying maneuvers, often without any obvious means of propulsion.
Speaking after the publication of its 36-page report on the subject, NASA administrator Bill Nelson recommended the use of several methods, including artificial intelligence, to further the understanding of the sightings. It was also announced that the new director has been appointed by NASA to oversee UAP research.
“The top takeaway from the study is that there is a lot more to learn,” Nelson said. “The NASA independent study team did not find any evidence that UAP has an extraterrestrial origin. But we don’t know what these UAP are.”
The report also notes that, while many sightings have innocuous explanations, some others that were studied “cannot be immediately identified as known human-made or natural phenomena.” It adds that the possibility of “potential unknown alien technology operating in Earth’s atmosphere” cannot be ruled out.
The release of NASA’s findings follows July’s Congressional testimony by a 14-year veteran Air Force intelligence officer, who told lawmakers that the US government has been routinely withholding information from the public as to the existence of UAP.
During his testimony, David Grusch said that he’d been informed of a “multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse-engineering program” during his career. He also stated under oath that the government has in its possession aircraft of “nonhuman” origin and that “biologics” had been retrieved from crash sites.
The report comes a day after the Mexican Congress was presented with evidence purported to be 1,000-year-old mummified alien corpses retrieved from an algae mine in Peru. The journalist and researcher at the center of that claim have had similar claims debunked in the past.