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UAP Independent Study Team Final Report

NASA · 2023-09-14 · 36 pages · text from the file's own layer

This is the final report of NASA's Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Independent Study Team, a 16-member external panel chaired by Dr. David Spergel, with a foreword by Dr. Nicola Fox. The report says it is not a review of past incidents. It concludes that UAP analysis is limited by poor data, calibration and metadata, and that NASA should support AARO's whole-of-government effort. It recommends using NASA satellites, commercial imagery, AI, crowdsourcing apps and the Aviation Safety Reporting System, and reducing stigma around reporting.

  • p. 1 NASA UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA Independent Study Team Report
  • p. 2 Members of the NASA Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Independent Study Team Dr. Anamaria Berea George Mason University…
  • p. 3 …Members of the NASA Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Independent Study Team. 3 7 9 11 21 23…
  • p. 5 …Although NASA’s fleet of Earth-observing satellites typically lack the spatial resolution to detect relatively…
  • p. 6 …The scientific processes used by NASA encourage critical thinking; NASA can model for the public how…
  • p. 7 …panel recommends that NASA play an essential role within that framework. NASA should leverage its core…
  • p. 9 …NASA is appointing a Director of UAP Research to centralize communications and leverage NASA’s extensive…
  • p. 11 …A vital part of NASA’s mission is exploring the unknown using the rigorous process of…
  • p. 13 11 NASA has a variety of existing and planned Earth- and space-observing assets, together with…
  • p. 14 …Here, NASA – with its world-leading expertise in curation, archiving, and distribution of large volumes of…
  • p. 15 13 To improve our understanding of UAP, NASA should contribute to a compre- hensive approach to…
  • p. 16 FINDING NASA’s expertise should be comprehensively leveraged as part of a robust and systematic data…
  • p. 17 …These method- ologies, combined with NASA’s extensive experience and expertise, should be utilized to investigate…
  • p. 18 …A third potential avenue for scientific analysis is to cross-correlate NASA’s extensive databases with…
  • p. 19 …Here, once more, NASA can provide important assistance to the whole-of- government effort to understand…
  • p. 20 …Although the system resides at NASA Ames and involves NASA employees, the ASRS program is solely…
  • p. 21 19 NASA’s deep experience in researching and developing air traffic management tools, together with its…
  • p. 22 20 This NASA Space Shuttle STS-100 image captures naturally occuring von Karman vortices forming in…
  • p. 23 21 We recommend that NASA play a prominent role in the whole-of-government effort to…
  • p. 25 …At the forefront, our profound appreciation goes to NASA for their unwavering support and commitment. We…
  • p. 26 …UAP in a Scientific Context On June 9, 2022, NASA announced an independent study of unidentified…
  • p. 27 …What is NASA’s Role? NASA is a science-driven agency committed to exploring and understanding…
  • p. 28 …For example, the NASA Planetary Defense Coordination program is dedicated to leveraging NASA and partner astrophysical…
  • p. 29 …Prominent examples of NASA's involvement in public life include slogans like “NASA is with you…
  • p. 31 …Data on UAP Status of Existing Data NASA collects an enormous amount of data using highly…
  • p. 32 …Using open-source software is consistent with NASA’s commitment to transparency. From multiple near-simultaneous…
  • p. 33 …These repositories could include data from NASA assets that are suitable for the study of UAP…
  • p. 34 …Since NASA data are already public and offered to the world in well-curated repositories accessible…
  • p. 35 …These NASA-supported scientific communities have relevant experience in first determining and then communicating whether observations…
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FOREWORD
Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) are one of our planet’s greatest
mysteries. Observations of objects in our skies that cannot be identified as
balloons, aircraft, or natural known phenomena have been spotted worldwide,
yet there are limited high-quality observations. The nature of science is to
explore the unknown, and data is the language scientists use to discover our
universe’s secrets. Despite numerous accounts and visuals, the absence of
consistent, detailed, and curated observations means we do not presently have
the body of data needed to make definitive, scientific conclusions about UAP.
At NASA, we use data and the tools of science to explore the unknown in the
atmosphere and space. In June 2022, NASA established an external independent
study team to find a way we can use our open-source data and resources to
help shed light on the nature of future UAP. Much like a team of peer reviewers,
NASA commissions independent study teams as a formal part of NASA’s
scientific process, and such teams provide the agency external counsel and
an increased network of perspectives from esteemed scientific experts.
NASA’s UAP Independent Study Team is made up of 16 experts from diverse
backgrounds in science, technology, data, artificial intelligence, space explor-
ation, aerospace safety, media and commercial innovation. They were assigned
to pinpoint the data available around UAP and produce a report that outlines
a roadmap for how NASA can use its tools of science to obtain usable data
to evaluate and categorize the nature of UAP going forward. This is not a review
of previous UAP incidents.
We thank the UAP Independent Study Team members for their service on the
study and for their contributions towards the advancement of our nation’s
understanding of UAP. While we are still evaluating the report and assessing
the team’s findings and recommendations, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate
and the Agency are committed to keeping a clear and open pipeline for
communication and resources with the Department of Defense’s All-
Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) to support its whole-of-government
approach towards understanding and resolving UAP cases. NASA is appointing
a Director of UAP Research to centralize communications and leverage
NASA’s extensive resources and expertise to actively engage in the whole-of-
government UAP initiative. This individual will also ensure that the agency’s vast
analytical capabilities, including its proficiency in data management, machine
learning and artificial intelligence, are contributed to the government’s unified
UAP effort.
At NASA, we are committed to openness, transparency, and scientific integrity
and they are a central part of our operations. By setting up this independent
study team, NASA gained important external perspectives from leading experts
in our nation for how we can use our resources to advance the study of UAP
data and explore the unknown in air and space for the benefit of all.
Dr. Nicola Fox, Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate

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Report, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 36 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.