This Wednesday, NASA publicly acknowledged that it needs more and better data to be able to understand the nature of UFOs, given the notable increase in the appearances of these objects in recent months in different regions of the United States.
In a press conference, experts from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration admitted that, at the moment, the UFO phenomenon has overtaken them. What does this mean? There is no way to completely rule out the hypothesis that the origin could be extraterrestrial or vice versa.
“This lack of high-quality data makes it impossible to draw scientific conclusions about the nature of UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomena),” said Nicola Fox, NASA’s science program manager, in the department’s first media appearance.
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What’s Going on with UFOs in the United States?
Fox explained that the data the group of experts has studied is unclassified and comes from “civilian government institutions,” the private sector, and “other sources.” The essence of the information provided today by NASA is that, despite multiple efforts, there is insufficient data to conclude. The door remains open to any possibility.
The context in which UFOs are reviewed also contributes to the fact that the information cannot be used, because there are entities that can “mimic or completely eclipse the phenomenon”, such as military aerial equipment. The weather or “ionospheric phenomena such as the northern lights” can also complicate the data, the expert added.
David Spergel, head of the team researching unidentified phenomena, noted that “the origin of UFOs remains unclear, and we fear that many such events are going unreported.” However, Spergel, who is an astrophysicist, clarified that, even with access to better data, “there is no guarantee that every sighting can be explained.”
The study group for UAPs was created in June last year with the goal of “advancing scientific understanding” of these phenomena. The Department of Defense, for its part, also created an office in mid-2022 to analyze and collect data on UFO encounters or phenomena of this type. According to a Pentagon report published in January, the number of sightings has increased since 2021.
Could UFOs Be Extraterrestrial?
Already last February, the U.S. Air Force could not deny that the UFOs shot down in the first weeks of 2023 were of extraterrestrial origin. In that episode, the authorities confirmed that three unidentified flying objects were shot down in Alaska, Yukon (Canada), and Lake Huron and the question was blunt. The question was blunt: Have they ruled out that the three objects were of extraterrestrial origin?
“I have not ruled anything out at this point. I will let our intelligence teams deal with it and figure it out. At this point, we will continue to work to counter any unknown threat approaching North America,” were the words of General Glen VanHerck, who is in charge of the U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Aerospace Defense.
The press conference by General VanHerck aimed to give information about the octagonal-shaped object that was shot down at Lake Huron near the Canadian border. The operation occurred with an AIM9x missile at more than 20,000 feet. After several weeks of investigation, the U.S. military authorities did not give strong indications about the origin of these UFOs.
“We are identifying them as objects and not balloons. The objects were very small and moved very slowly,” said General VanHerck, after he was also questioned about the possibility that these objects were Chinese espionage objects like the balloon shot down last February 4 in South Carolina.
In recent months, the U.S. government and NASA have taken a historic turn on the subject of UFOs by gradually declassifying certain information. However, despite decades of sightings, none of them have yet been confirmed to be of extraterrestrial origin. In 2022, during the first Public Hearing on the subject, U.S. officials confirmed that at least 400 UFO sightings have been recorded between 2004 and 2021.
“We know that members of our Army have encountered aerial phenomena that cannot be identified. As UFOs pose a flight threat to our pilots and a safety threat to our drones, we are committed to determining their origin. We understand that there is a cultural stigma surrounding UFOs, and our goal is to eliminate it with a clear method of reporting,” was the message at the time from Ronald Moultrie, undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security within the administration headed by Joe Biden.
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The Pentagon Gives Its First Official Description of the Downed UFOs
Have There Been Encounters with Extraterrestrials?
That May 2022 Public Hearing was requested after a Pentagon report in June 2021 revealed that several Navy pilots had reported more than 400 UFO sightings since 2004. Considering that, authorities pointed out that most were merely “physical objects,” Capitol Hill demanded answers on the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP). Against this backdrop, legislator Andre Carson’s question was very clear: “Do you have details of individual encounters with extraterrestrials, and are you considering making that information public?”
“Our National Security guidance requires us to protect our sources of information and our methods. We must protect any information and any knowledge that an adversary (another country) can use as an advantage against us. That’s a very important thing in the balance between transparency and our war advantage because it’s important to remember that the Army prepares on this issue as if it’s going to fight. I can only commit to giving that information when it does not include sources and methods. I will only give that information when it does not pose a threat to our National Security. Only then would I declassify it,” was Bray’s response?
Pentagon representatives also discussed the encounter a pilot who took off from the USS Nimitz in 2004 had with an Unidentified Flying Object. “The example that we still can’t resolve is the Nimitz incident. We have information that simply does not allow us to conclude what the pilot saw when he had that encounter with an Unidentified Flying Object. I want to make it clear that the fact that we can’t conclude what it was doesn’t mean that we’re looking at something easy or difficult to explain. We just don’t know what it was. I can’t point to an object that was extraterrestrial or not man-made. There are only several examples that have been inconclusive,” Bray admitted.
Story written in Spanish by Miguel Fernández in Cultura Colectiva News