On June 9, 2022, NASA announced it was commissioning an independent team to study unidentified anomalous phenomena from a scientific perspective. The announcement came from Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, then NASA Associate Administrator for Science, who had presented an outline of the planned study to the National Academies Space Studies Board and Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board two days earlier. What the study was actually tasked with doing is often misunderstood.
What the Study Team Was Asked to Do
NASA’s UAP Independent Study Team (UAPIST) was given an eight-question Statement of Task. The questions focused on data infrastructure, not on determining what UAP are. The team was tasked with identifying what civilian government and private sector data already exists and could be applied to UAP analysis; what new data NASA should collect; what analysis techniques currently exist or need to be developed; what physical constraints can be placed on UAP given available evidence; and how air traffic management reporting systems can be modified to capture better UAP data in future.
The Study Timeline
- June 9, 2022: NASA formally announces the independent study
- May 31, 2023: Public meeting, 10:30am–2:30pm ET, broadcast live via nasa.gov/live. Public question submission via nasa.cnf.io
- September 14, 2023: Final report published. PDF available at science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/uap-independent-study-team-final-report.pdf
Why NASA and Why Now
NASA’s involvement in UAP was significant for a specific institutional reason: NASA collects enormous quantities of environmental, atmospheric, and orbital data through satellites, aircraft, and planetary probes. The study team’s mandate included determining whether any of this existing NASA data could be repurposed to analyse UAP. NASA also has credibility and analytical infrastructure that other government agencies lack for this type of scientific inquiry. The study was framed under NASA’s stated principles of openness, transparency, and scientific integrity.
Questions about NASA’s UAP programme should be directed to Daniel.A.Evans@nasa.gov. The FAQ page is at science.nasa.gov/uap/faqs/.
Source: science.nasa.gov/uap/. NASA Science Mission Directorate. UAP Independent Study Team Terms of Reference.