NASA’s new report on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) found no evidence to suggest they have alien origins, though scientists have not been able to reach a conclusion on an explanation for their presence.
“And the top takeaway from this study is that there is a lot more to learn,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at a press conference Thursday. “The NASA independent study team did not find any evidence that UAP have an extraterrestrial origin, but we don’t know what these UAP are.”
To help answer these questions, Nelson announced NASA has appointed a director of UAP research to oversee the implementation of the agency’s vision of UAP research and work with other agencies to explore the presence of the phenomena.
The 33-page report came from an independent study panel tasked with looking into how NASA can assist ongoing government efforts to gain information about UAPs.
In the final paragraph of the report, the panel wrote, “At this point there is no reason to conclude that existing UAP reports have an extraterrestrial source.”
“However, if we acknowledge that as one possibility, then those objects must have travelled through our solar system to get here,” the report continues. “Just as the galaxy does not stop at the outskirts of the solar system, the solar system also includes Earth and its environs.”
As a result, the report said there is “potential unknown alien technology operating in the Earth’s atmosphere,” and scientists should recognize the potential is “at least plausible.”
David Spergel, the chairman of the team behind the report, echoed the report’s findings Thursday morning.
“It is essential to clarify, based on current findings and methodology, that we find no evidence to suggest that UAP are extraterrestrial in origin,” Spergel said. “Our focus in understanding the phenomena regardless of the source.”
Calling the report the agency’s first “concrete action” to seriously study UAPs, Nelson added he hopes the report will transition the conversation about UAPs from “sensationalism to science.”
The panel — made up of 16 experts across different disciplines — recommended NASA use a combination of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and new systematic data gathering techniques to further UAP research, noting the current lack of necessary data connected to detections of the phenomena.
“NASA is uniquely positioned to contribute a robust and systematic approach to studying UA, furthering its mission of advancing scientific knowledge, technical expertise, and exploration,” the report reads.
The report comes amid lawmakers’ recent frustration with the lack of available information about unknown objects flying in restricted U.S. airspace.
The House Oversight and Accountability Committee heard from witnesses at a hearing in July who pushed for greater transparency in how the government handles reports of UAPs. The witnesses accused the Pentagon of withholding information related to the unidentified objects and called for centralized reporting databases moving forward.
Nelson vowed Thursday to be more transparent on the information the agency gathers through its research, noting the “global fascination” with UAPs.