NASA Panel Seeks Rigor and Respect for ‘Anomalous’ Phenomena Studies

NASA released a report last week from an independent study panel that recommends NASA play a key role in a Defense Department-led effort to track and explain unidentified anomalous phenomena, pointing to the relevance of the agency’s expertise and its “global reputation for scientific openness.”

The panel, chaired by astrophysicist David Spergel, does not rule out that some UAP could be of extraterrestrial origin but labels such explanations a “hypothesis of last resort.”

The panel emphasizes that UAP studies are primarily of interest because of threats they might pose to national security and aerospace safety. The panel also criticizes the stigma around UAP studies, noting that some panel members were subjected to online ridicule and more generally that scientists are often warned against participating in projects such as the search for extraterrestrial technosignatures.

At an event marking the report’s release, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced the agency’s appointment of a director of UAP research, in accord with one of the report’s recommendations. The agency initially refused to identify the person appointed, citing the danger of harassment, but relented hours later, stating it is meteorologist Mark McInerney.