INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NASA said on Thursday it plans to assemble a team of scientists to examine &unidentified aerial phenomena& & commonly termed UFOs & in the
latest sign of the seriousness with which the United States government is taking the issue.The United States space agency said the focus
will be on identifying available data, the best ways to gather future data and how it can use that information to advance scientific
understanding of the issue
NASA tapped David Spergel, who formerly headed Princeton University&s astrophysics department, to lead the scientific team and Daniel Evans,
a senior researcher in NASA&s Science Mission Directorate, to orchestrate the study.A team of scientists is due to be convened by the fall,
then will spend roughly 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.The announcement
comes a year after the United States government issued a report, compiled by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in
conjunction with a Navy-led task force, detailing observations mostly by Navy personnel of &unidentified aerial phenomenon,& or UAPs
Two Pentagon officials testified on May 17 at the first congressional hearing on UFOs in a half century.We&re looking at the Earth in new
ways, and we&re also looking the other way, at the sky, in new ways,& Thomas Zurbuchen, the chief of NASA&s science unit, told reporters on
&What we&re really trying to do here is start an investigation without an outcome in mind.United States officials have described UAPs as a
national security issue, which NASA echoed.Unidentified phenomena in the atmosphere are of interest for both national security and air
Establishing which events are natural provides a key first step to identifying or mitigating such phenomena, which aligns with one of NASA&s
goals to ensure the safety of aircraft,& NASA said in a news release.Last year&s report said United States defense and intelligence
analysts lacked sufficient data to determine the nature of UAPs observed by military pilots including whether they are advanced earthly
technologies, atmospherics or of an extraterrestrial origin
The two Pentagon officials last month acknowledged many observations remain beyond the government&s ability to explain.NASA said in a news
release: &There is no evidence UAPs are extraterrestrial in origin.The agency&s involvement is aimed at providing more data, with an aim to
leverage NASA&s scientific talent, satellites and sensors otherwise tasked with monitoring Earth&s climate or observing atmospheric
conditions, Zurbuchen said.The first step is to figure out what data is at hand,& Evans said.NASA&s involvement in Pentagon efforts to
characterize UAPs has been previously acknowledged by United States officials.The Pentagon has made public some video of enigmatic objects
exhibiting speed and maneuverability exceeding known aviation technology and lacking any visible means of propulsion or flight-control
surfaces.The post NASA to form scientific team to study UFOs first appeared on Ariana News.
