The possibility of extraterrestrial visits to Earth is surely being taken more and more seriously in the United States: NASA announced Thursday, June 9, the launch of a months-long investigation into unknown atmospheric phenomena, the infamous flying objects. There is no evidence that these phenomena have an extraterrestrial origin, He pointed out from the beginning the space agency.

Most “If someone asked me if I thought there was compelling evidence for intelligent life in any of these phenomena, I would give a scientist a perfectly acceptable answer, which is that I don’t know.”Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator at NASA, said at a press conference.

However, the topic could not be more important, as it relates to both national security and air traffic security, the US agency said. The study will be conducted by leading scientists and aviation experts. Set to begin in early fall, it is supposed to last nine months and lead to the publication of a report.

Various missions

Three goals were declared: collecting data that already exists, determining what is missing and how best to collect it, and defining the tools with which it will be analyzed in the future. “We now have a very limited set of these views.David Spiergel, announced during the same press conference, put an astrophysicist at the helm of this work. This makes it difficult to draw conclusions. »

However, there are already mountains of data, according to NASA experts, who want to collect it from governments, private companies, associations, or even individuals. The allocated budget should not exceed $100,000.

The idea is to remove the stigma of the topic. “One of the results of this study, for me, is to get everyone to understand (…) The scientific process is valid for dealing with all problems, including this one.”fired Thomas Zurbuchen, who says that he himself decided to open this investigation.

“puzzling” puzzles

In June 2021, US intelligence claimed in a long-awaited report that there was no evidence of extraterrestrials, while acknowledging that dozens of phenomena observed by military pilots could not be explained. And in May, for the first time in more than fifty years, the US Congress held a public hearing on the subject. According to the Pentagon, an increasing number of unidentified objects have been reported in the sky over the past 20 years. And they inevitably raise the wildest speculation.

I think new scientific mechanisms will be discoveredFor his part, sentenced to Thomas Zurbuchen. There have been many cases where something almost magical has appeared and it has turned out to be a new scientific effect. Never underestimate the power of nature. »

Experts emphasized the initiation of this project without preconceived ideas. But for David Spergel, it is possible that UFOs bring together different phenomena, which cannot be put under a single explanation. I acknowledge that the study may not immediately shed light on many aspects, but should instead provide a roadmap for moving toward this goal in the future.

NASA is already looking for other forms of life in space

NASA is already looking for extraterrestrial life in space, for example by searching for traces of ancient life in microbial form on Mars, or for technical fingerprints from other planets (signals of technologies).

But this is the first time that the US space agency has seriously considered this possibility on Earth. “I don’t think anyone has systematically looked at unknown atmospheric phenomena in the past”Daniel Evans, who is responsible for coordinating the study for the space agency, said Thursday. But “Over the decades, NASA has answered the call to tackle some of the most perplexing mysteries we know, and this is no different.”.