---
title: "NASA Head Says He’s Talked to Pilots Who Encountered UFOs"
description: "In an interview with CNN, NASA administrator Bill Nelson chimed in on the topic of UFOs ahead of the release of a long-awaited report on the matter."
date: "2021-06-09"
modified: "2021-06-09"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-head-talked-to-pilots-ufos"
categories:
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "NASA"
  - "Navy"
  - "the digest"
  - "ufos"
---

# NASA Head Says He’s Talked to Pilots Who Encountered UFOs

![In an interview with CNN, NASA administrator Bill Nelson chimed in on the topic of UFOs ahead of the release of a long-awaited report on the matter.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/nasa-head-talked-to-pilots-ufos.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://pixabay.com/illustrations/science-fiction-spaceship-alien-1545307/" target="\_blank"\>Image via Pixabay\</a\>\</em\>*

## More Questions

In an [interview with *CNN*](<https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/08/tech/nasa-bill-nelson-full-interview-transcript-scn/index.html>), newly-minted NASA administrator Bill Nelson chimed in on the topic of UFOs ahead of the release of a [long-awaited report](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/pentagon-ufo-task-force-ready-report>) on the strange sightings.

"Well, I have talked to those Navy pilots, and they are sure that they saw something," Nelson told *CNN*. "And of course we've seen their video from their jets."

## Know Nothing

But despite having been briefed on the forthcoming report "in my capacity on the Senate Armed Services Committee," Nelson mostly reiterated the same questions we've heard over and over — perhaps a hint that the unclassified version of the report will offer little in terms of new explanations for the mysterious phenomena.

"We don't know if it's extraterrestrial," Nelson told *CNN**.* "We don't know if it's an enemy. We don't know if it's an optical phenomenon. We don't think it's an optical phenomenon because of the characteristics that those Navy jet pilots described."

Several former military pilots [have come forward](<https://futurism.com/navy-pilot-saw-ufos-every-day>) over the last couple of years with stories of making highly unusual sightings. Unidentified objects, as caught on video, appeared to [defy the laws of physics](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/former-cia-director-ufo-videos-quite-eyebrow-raising>) as they bobbed up and down in the sky without showing any signs of conventional propulsion.

Apart from far-fetched theories that ETs have come to Earth, former military officials have also suggested that US adversaries including China and Russia may be behind the sightings.

## Science First

In the interview, Nelson argued that we must look at the issue from a scientific point of view.

"So, now that I'm here at NASA I've turned to our scientists, and I've said, 'Would you, look at it from scientific standpoint. See if you can determine what it is so we can have a better idea,'" he told *CNN*.

"NASA, appropriately, is going to look at it through the lens of its scientists," he added. "We are involved in this research, and I've started. I've been here a month, and I've started."

Despite NASA's investigations, Nelson revealed that the agency is "not directly working with the Pentagon, but I can guarantee you, if we find something, the Pentagon will know."

**READ MORE:** [NASA's new chief on SpaceX's Mars rocket, UFOs and going back to the moon](<https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/08/tech/nasa-bill-nelson-full-interview-transcript-scn/index.html>) \[NASA\]

**More on UFOs:** [*US Officials Say Gov Can’t Rule Out Aliens Behind UFO Sightings*](<https://futurism.com/officials-aliens-ufo-sightings>)

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)