UFOs, or as they are now labeled unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), are back in the news. Following candid testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, and the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sponsored a three-and-a-half-hour public meeting on where the topic of UAPs stands. The gathering included a 16-member panel of experts assembled last year to open the aperture on what we know about UAPs.
Independent Panel Explores UFOs
Disciplines represented on the NASA UAP Independent Study panel included computational and data science, biological oceanography, astronomy, physics, along with a former astronaut. Assistant Deputy Associate Administrator for Research at NASA Dr. Daniel Evans opened the session, telling the audience the objective is to ensure:
“(O)ur sky stays safe for all. The presence of UAPs raises concerns about the safety of our skies, and it’s this nation’s obligation to determine if these phenomena pose any potential risks to airspace safety … first step to reducing the stigma around UAP reporting. It is NASA’s responsibility to be honest and forthright and to follow the science.”
NASA panel chairman Dr. David Spergel explained that the evidence collected is “fragmented” and “insufficient” to make any conclusive determination. He also revealed that, due to the paucity and poor quality of the data, “there is no guarantee that all sightings will be explained.” Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, AARO director, updated the number of sightings in the organization’s database to more than 800 cases, growing by 50 to 100 new reports each month. He said the numbers of really “anomalous” are on the order of 2% to 5%.
“NASA also has access to earth sensing satellites, radiological sensors, tools for gravitational wave, geomagnetic wave detection, and the means to analyze open source and crowd-sourced data,” Kirkpatrick related, explaining data being discussed was aerial phenomena. AARO does not collect information on maritime and space sightings.
An unfortunate aspect of forming the UAP Independent Study panel came to light. “NASA officials said several panelists had been subjected to unspecified ‘online abuse’ and harassment since beginning their work in June last year,” Reuters reported. During her panel opening remarks, NASA’s science chief Nicola Fox lamented, “Harassment only leads to further stigmatization.” AARO and NASA hope to eliminate this by providing greater transparency to the public on what the US government is doing.
Detractors Claim UAPs Are Extraterrestrial
Many detractors of AARO and NASA claim that the agencies are not forthcoming with evidence of extraterrestrial life. But there is unanimity among the organizations’ researchers: According to Kirkpatrick, AARO director, there is “no credible evidence thus far of extraterrestrial activity, off-world technology, or objects that defy known laws of physics.” Yet some steadfastly believe otherwise.
(Photo by P. Wallick/Classicstock/Getty Images)
Matt Walsh, a self-confessed “theocratic fascist, bestselling children’s author” and professional blogger, tweeted: “(I)ntelligence officials now confirm that UFOs of ‘non-human origin’ have been recovered and studied … The evidence is really overwhelming now.” Well, that evidence may be a little murky: Walsh is referring to an article in The Debrief titled “Intelligence Officials Say US Has Retrieved Craft of Non-Human Origin.”
The authors claim that a former intelligence official turned whistleblower has provided “extensive classified information about deeply covert programs that he says possess retrieved intact and partially intact craft of non-human origin.” Though the article has numerous testimonials corroborating similar claims, it presents no hard evidence. One contributor to the article stated: “(A)t least some of these technologies of unknown origin derive from non-human intelligence.” But if the technologies are of unknown origin, what justifies a leap of logic to non-human intelligence?
Since it is not possible to prove a negative, it is no more reasonable to say categorically extraterrestrial UFOs do not exist. Government researchers responsible for ferreting out the truth, including NASA and the Pentagon, give every indication of being honest brokers. Perhaps more definitive information will be revealed. People are interested.
