Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) – NASA announced on Thursday it was planning to bring together a team of scientists to look at “unidentified aerial phenomena” – commonly referred to as UFOs – as the latest sign of the US government’s seriousness. . The U.S. space agency said the focus will be on locating available data, the best ways to collect future data and how it can use that information to advance scientific understanding of the issue. NASA used David Spergel, who was head of astrophysics at Princeton University, to lead the team, and Daniel Evans, a senior researcher at NASA’s Mission to Science, orchestrated the study. A team of scientists will be convened by the fall and will then spend about nine months developing a public report on its findings, Evans said. NASA will spend “anywhere from a few tens of thousands of dollars” to no more than $ 100,000 on the effort, Evans added. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register The announcement comes a year after the U.S. government issued a report, compiled by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in conjunction with a Navy-led action team, detailing remarks made primarily by Navy personnel about “Unknown air phenomenon” or UAP. Two Pentagon officials testified May 17 at the first congressional hearing on UFO sightings in half a century. “We are looking at the Earth in new ways, and we are also looking at the sky from the other side, in new ways,” Thomas Zurbuchen, head of NASA’s science unit, told reporters in a teleconference. “What we are really trying to do here is start a research without any results in mind.” U.S. officials have described the UAP as a national security issue, which NASA has reiterated. “Unidentified atmospheric phenomena are of interest to both national and aviation security. Determining natural phenomena provides a key first step in identifying or mitigating such phenomena, which is in line with one of NASA’s goals to ensure “Aircraft safety,” NASA said in a press release. Last year ‘s report said U.S. defense and intelligence analysts did not have enough data to determine the nature of UAPs observed by military pilots, including whether they were advanced terrestrial, atmospheric or extraterrestrial technology. The two Pentagon officials last month acknowledged that many remarks remain beyond the government’s ability to explain. NASA said in a press release: “There is no evidence that UAPs are of extraterrestrial origin.” The service’s involvement is aimed at providing more data, with the aim of harnessing NASA’s scientific talent, satellites and sensors that are otherwise responsible for monitoring Earth’s climate or observing atmospheric conditions, Zurbuchen said. “The first step is to understand what data is available,” Evans said. NASA’s involvement in the Pentagon’s efforts to classify UAPs has previously been acknowledged by US officials. The Pentagon has released a number of videos of enigmatic objects that show speed and maneuverability that go beyond well-known aviation technology and lack visible propulsion or flight control surfaces. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Joey Roulette. Edited by: Will Dunham Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
