Are we alone in this gigantic universe? This is an answer that philosophers and scientists have been looking for centuries. There have been multiple sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects or UFOs, that at present, nobody knows or understands anything about.
In an attempt to find answers to these questions, the space agency NASA has begun its study on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), another term for UFOs, on Monday. NASA has formed a 16-member-panel to make observations of events in the sky that cannot be identified as aircraft or as known natural phenomena.
We’ve selected 16 individuals to participate in an independent study team on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), or observations in the sky that cannot be identified as aircraft or known natural phenomena. The nine-month study will begin on Oct. 24: https://t.co/RsVP4kggwd pic.twitter.com/OQ5XecW0Ai
— NASA (@NASA) October 21, 2022
The team includes 16 individuals who hold expertise in scientific, aeronautics, and data analytics communities field. Astrophysicist David Spergel, president of the Simons Foundation in New York City, is leading the team. You can find the complete list of members here.
The study will carry on for nine months and will cost less than $100,000. The team will focus on previously collected “unclassified” data gathered by civilian government entities, commercial data, and data from other sources. Going forward, it will recommend a roadmap for potential UAP data analysis. The team will present a report on its finding in mid-2023.
NASA says UFOs are of interest for both national security and air safety. “Without access to an extensive set of data, it is nearly impossible to verify or explain any observation, thus the focus of the study is to inform NASA what possible data could be collected in the future to scientifically discern the nature of UAP,” NASA says in its blog.
Study of UFOs and search for aliens
The search for life elsewhere in Universe is one of NASA’s key priorities. NASA says, as of now, it has not found any credible evidence of extraterrestrial life and there is no evidence that UFOs are extraterrestrial. But in its blog, NASA makes it clear that it is exploring the solar system with an open mind. NASA efforts also include a search for biosignatures and technosignatures aka SETI.
In simple words, technosignatures are any detectable sign of extant or extinct life. These can be signs of tech (like radio signals) through which, scientists can infer the existence of an advanced civilization elsewhere in the universe. Whereas a biosignature is anything that can be used as evidence for past or present life, like a leaf or a feather, or even fossils stored away in the rocks.
