NASA Recruits Former Astronaut, 15 Other Experts To Investigate Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

In June, NASA announced a program that will investigate unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) that will begin in the fall and cost less than $100,000 that will last for nine months. Now, they have introduced the members of the team that will unravel the mysteries of UAP seen in the skies to solve hundreds of sightings.

The program will be launched on Monday and the team will be investigating the data gathered by civilian government entities and commercial data of the UAP sightings. They are set to share their findings with the public by mid-2023.

(Photo : Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)
In this handout provided by NASA, Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly of NASA rest in a chair outside of the Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft just minutes after he and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Sergey Volkov of Roscosmos landed in a remote area on March 2, 2016 near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.

NASA Introduces Team To Investigate UAP Sightings

NASA posted an update of the program on its website and named the members of the team responsible for the UAP study. NASA's Science Mission Directorate assistant deputy associate administrator for research Daniel Evans is responsible for orchestrating the study. But astrophysicist David Spergel will take the position of chair of the team.

Other members include specialists across different fields, such as artificial intelligence, aerospace safety, science, and data. Here are the following members of the team:

Anamaria Berea- associate professor of computation and data science at George Mason University.
Federica Bianco- physics and astrophysics joint professor at the University of Delaware.
Paula Bontempi- biological oceanographer and the second woman to lead the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography.
Reggie Brothers- AE Industrial Partners operating partner.
Jen Buss- Potomac Institute of Policy Studies CEO.
Nadia Drake- a doctor in genetics, a freelance journalist, and a National Geographic writer.
Mike Gold- Civil Space and External Affairs at Redwire executive vice president.
David Grinspoon- senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, adjunct professor of astrophysical and planetary science at the University of Colorado, and Georgetown University.
Scott Kelly- former NASA astronaut who also served as a test pilot, fighter pilot, and retired US Navy captain. He commanded expeditions 26, 45, and 46 during his stay on the International Space Station.
Matt Mountain- Association of Universities for Research and Astronomy president and a telescope scientist for JWST.
Warren Randolph- Federal Aviation Administration's department of Accident Investigation and Prevention for Aviation Safety deputy executive
Walter Scott- Maxar executive vice president and CTO
Joshua Semeter- electrical and computer engineering professor, and the director of the Center for Space Physics at Boston University.
Kelly Toner- Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Aviation Policy and Plans acting executive director, and an associate fellow for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Shelly Wright- associate professor of physics at the Center for Astrophysics and Space Studies at the University of California, San Diego.

Significance of the Program

NASA's Science Mission Directorate associate administrator Thomas Zurbuchen said that exploring the unknown in space is at the heart of the space agency's identity.

He added that understanding the data about the UAP is important in drawing scientific conclusions about what is in the universe as these data serve as the language of scientists that makes the unexplainable, explainable.

Usually, UAP is of natural interest for both national security and air safety that aligns with the space agency's goals to ensure the safety of aircraft.

According to Space.com, the study does not aim to be the last word about UAP. But it will look at previously collected observations and focus on how they could be better organized and analyzed in the future.