NASA to launch study of unidentified aerial phenomena, or UFOs

Washington — NASA said Thursday that it is establishing an independent group of investigators to study unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), formerly known as UFOs, in the latest government effort to investigate the mysterious objects reported by hundreds of pilots.

In a release, the space agency said the researchers will be tasked with "identifying available data, how best to collect future data, and how NASA can use that data to move the scientific understanding of UAPs forward." The study will begin in the fall and take about nine months to complete, with researchers planning to issue their findings in a public report. The release noted that "[t]here is no evidence UAPs are extra-terrestrial in origin."

The effort is separate from the work of a Defense Department group that has been investigating the incidents reported by aviators for several years, but NASA noted that the agency has "coordinated widely across the government regarding how to apply the tools of science to shed light on the nature and origin of unidentified aerial phenomena."