NASA on Wednesday conducted its first public meeting regarding UFOs, following a year-long study into unexplained sightings. The four-hour hearing was televised and featured an independent panel of experts. The team comprised 16 scientists and various other specialists, handpicked by NASA, including retired astronaut Scott Kelly, first American to spend nearly a year in space.
“I want to emphasize this loud and proud: There is absolutely no convincing evidence for extraterrestrial life associated with” unidentified objects, NASA's Dan Evans said after the meeting.
Earlier, the space agency had launched the study to probe UAPs — short for unexplained anomalous phenomena — in the sky, in space or under the sea.
Kelly, a former Navy pilot, suggested optical illusions as an explanation for a past incident off Virginia Beach where his radar officer believed they had flown past a UFO.
“It turns out it was Bart Simpson, a balloon,” Kelly said. “And in my experience,
Evans highlighted the negative impact of trolling and online abuse during the livestream of the meeting.
Harassment detracts from the scientific process and reinforces the stigma surrounding the topic, said Evans, adding that NASA security is dealing with it.
“It’s precisely this rigorous, evidence-based approach that allows one to separate the fact from fiction," he said.
The group is looking at what unclassified information is available on the subject and how much more is needed to understand what's going on in the sky, according to astrophysicist David Spergel, the committee's chair who runs the Simons Foundation.
No secret military data are included, such as anything surrounding the suspected spy balloons from China spotted flying over the U.S. earlier this year.
The meeting was held at at NASA headquarters in Washington with the public taking part remotely.
A final report is expected by the end of July.
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