--- title: "UFO Research Group Implies It Has Obtained Alien Artifacts" description: "According to a recent Q&A with the New York Times, a UFO and alien research group may have gotten its hands on some \"exotic material samples from UFOs.\"" date: "2019-09-27" modified: "2019-09-27" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/ufo-research-group-alien-artifacts" categories: - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "aliens" - "the digest" - "tom delonge" - "ufos" --- # UFO Research Group Implies It Has Obtained Alien Artifacts ![According to a recent Q&A with the New York Times, a UFO and alien research group may have gotten its hands on some "exotic material samples from UFOs."]() *\Image: Steve Jurvetson/Victor Tangermann\* ## Exotic Materials Former Blink-182 singer Tom DeLonge has pulled off an astonishing career change. In 2017, after quitting the band, he co-founded a group called To the Stars Academy of Arts & Sciences, an organization committed to researching aliens. And he may now have something extraordinary to show for it. In a [recent Q&A]() with *The* *New York Times*, a reporter asked whether the group had obtained "exotic material samples from UFOs." The spokesperson's response: "certainly." ## Aliens Exist? It's still unclear what precise materials the Academy has gotten its hands on, and whether they relate in any way to the [three videos]() it obtained of "unidentified aerial phenomena" that a spokesperson for the Navy [recently revealed]() to be legitimate. "What we have been doing is trying to find the most qualified individuals at the most respectable institutions to conduct scientific analysis," Luis Elizondo, the director of global security and special programs for DeLonge's group, told the *Times*. "That scientific analysis includes physical analysis, it includes molecular and chemical analysis and ultimately it includes nuclear analysis." ## Dammit And it might be a while until we learn more about the group's activities. As Elizondo puts it, "the last thing we want to do is jump to any conclusions, prematurely. Ultimately, the data is going to decide what something is or what something isn’t." **READ MORE:** [How Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge Became a U.F.O. Researcher]() \[*The New York Times*\] **More on the UFO videos:** *[Navy Confirms That Three UFO Encounter Videos Are Real]()* ## 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]()