The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) has commissioned a study into unidentified flying objects (UFOs), also known as UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomena).
The investigation will analyse all the information publicly available on these events from a scientific perspective, as well as look into how Nasa can best make use of this data to understand the unexplained sightings.
“We are not shying away from reputational risk,” said Nasa’s science mission chief, Thomas Zurbuchen, acknowledging that this decision might be perceived as if the organisation is “selling out”, by giving credit to the phenomena.
“Our strong belief is that the biggest challenge of these phenomena is that it’s a data-poor field,” he added.
The study will begin later this year and last nine months, with an expected cost of $100,000 (£80,000). It will be entirely open, with no classified military data used, and it will secure the counsel of experts in the scientific...