What We Know and What We Don’t

A recent report by NASA’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) Task Force has been released to the public, revealing some of the findings and recommendations of the group that was formed in 2020 to study the mysterious objects that have been encountered by military pilots and other witnesses.

The report, which was obtained by the website The Debrief, summarizes the main objectives, methods, challenges and outcomes of the UAP Task Force, as well as some of the possible explanations and implications of the phenomenon.

The report states that the UAP Task Force was established to “improve our understanding of, and gain insight into, the nature and origins of UAPs” and to “ensure the safety of flight of Department of Defense (DoD) personnel and the security of U.S. operations, facilities and assets.”

The group was also tasked with “identifying any potential threats posed by UAPs” and “determining whether UAPs are indicative of a foreign adversary’s advanced aerospace capabilities.”

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stressed from the very start that the panel “did not find any evidence that UAP have an extraterrestrial origin.” That said, he also conceded that “we don’t know what these UAP are” and ultimately mused that “the top takeaway from the study is that there is a lot more to learn.”

The report acknowledges that there is a lack of reliable data on UAPs, due to various factors such as limited reporting, stigma, sensor limitations, classification issues and resource constraints.

The report also notes that there is no standardized method for collecting, analyzing and sharing UAP information across the DoD and other agencies. Therefore, one of the main recommendations of the report is to establish a formalized and centralized process for UAP reporting and analysis, as well as to increase interagency coordination and collaboration on the issue.

The report also provides a brief overview of some of the cases that have been investigated by the UAP Task Force, which include incidents involving multiple sensors, multiple witnesses, unusual flight characteristics, near-midair collisions and interference with military systems.

The report states that most of these cases remain unexplained, and that there is a wide range of possible hypotheses for their origin, such as atmospheric phenomena, foreign adversaries, classified programs, commercial drones or other human-made objects, or even “other”.

The report concludes by stating that the UAP Task Force will continue to monitor and investigate UAP reports, as well as to engage with other stakeholders such as Congress, the scientific community and the public. The report also emphasizes that the UAP issue is not only a matter of national security, but also a potential opportunity for scientific discovery and technological innovation.

The report can be accessed here.

This article is based on the original source.