--- title: "NASA Has Assembled an Expert UFO-Hunting Team" description: "NASA has announced that it has put together a 16-expert team to investigate reports of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) or UFOs." date: "2022-10-21" modified: "2022-10-21" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-ufo-team" categories: - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "NASA" - "the digest" - "uaps" - "ufos" --- # NASA Has Assembled an Expert UFO-Hunting Team ![NASA has announced that it has put together a 16-expert team to investigate reports of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) or UFOs.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## UFOlogy NASA has announced that it has put together a 16-expert team to investigate reports of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) — the government's moniker for UFOs — which is kicking off a nine-month independent study as soon as next week. Among the list of assembled experts are retired astronaut Scott Kelly, who has spent 520 days in orbit over four separate missions, as well a science journalist, biological oceanographer, a space technology company CEO, and a Federal Aviation Administration executive. The announcement brings NASA one big step closer making good [on its promise]() to study an increasingly public cache of unexplained UFO sightings, including [mysterious encounters made by US Navy pilots](). "Exploring the unknown in space and the atmosphere is at the heart of who we are at NASA," Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA, said in the statement. "Understanding the data we have surrounding unidentified aerial phenomena is critical to helping us draw scientific conclusions about what is happening in our skies," he added. ## Crunching the Data The newly assembled team has a gargantuan task ahead of it, given the sheer amount of data available. "The team will identify how data gathered by civilian government entities, commercial data, and data from other sources can potentially be analyzed to shed light on UAPs," the statement reads. "It will then recommend a roadmap for potential UAP data analysis by the agency going forward." This is an obvious first step towards putting our nation's best minds towards figuring out what's behind these encounters — and we can't wait to hear about their results. "Data is the language of scientists and makes the unexplainable, explainable," Zurbuchen added. **More UFOs:** [*There's a "Secret Society" in the Pentagon Hiding UFO Secrets, Officials Say*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()