Washington — A group of scientists and experts convened by NASA to study unidentified anomalous phenomena, known as UAP or UFOs, is holding its first and only public meeting Wednesday since it was formed last year.
The 16-member study group is set to release a report detailing the findings of its nine-month investigation later this summer, the space agency said earlier this month. Wednesday’s meeting, which begins at 10:30 a.m. ET, will feature the group’s “final deliberations” before issuing the report.
NASA defines UAP as “observations of events in the sky that cannot be identified as aircraft or known natural phenomena from a scientific perspective.” Hundreds of military fighter pilots have reported encountering unusual objects traveling at high speeds with seemingly no method of propulsion, confounding scientists and military analysts who have struggled to explain their origins.
The issue has gained more attention from the military and lawmakers in recent years with the release of numerous videos showing the mysterious objects. The Defense Department established its own task force to look into the encounters. The leaders of that group told Congress in December that it was investigating hundreds of new reports of UAP, but said it had not seen any evidence that suggested the objects had an “alien origin.”
The NASA study group was formed last October to “lay the groundwork for future study on the nature of UAPs for NASA and other organizations,” the agency said at the time. The team is led by David Spergel, the president of the Simons Foundation and an astrophysicist who formerly chaired Princeton University’s astrophysics department.
In its announcement of Wednesday’s meeting, NASA said that “[o]utlining how to evaluate and study UAP by using data, technology, and the tools of science is a NASA priority” and that the study is not “a review or assessment of previous unidentifiable observations.” The report, the agency said, “will inform NASA on what possible data could be collected in the future to shed light on the nature and origin of UAP.”
Wednesday’s meeting is set to last four hours, and scientists will take questions from the media in a press conference following the session.
How to watch NASA’s UAP meeting
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What: NASA’s UAP study group holds a public meeting
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Date: Wednesday, May 31, 2023
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Time: 10:30 a.m. ET
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Online stream: Live on CBS News in the player above and on your mobile or streaming device.
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