NASA UFO report – live: Scientists release Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena findings

Well, that’s all our NASA content for today – thank you for following along. 

Unfortunately, it looks like no aliens have been found yet – but that doesn’t mean NASA is certain no other life exists. 

To read all the updates from the space agency’s media briefing as it happened, scroll down below. 

If you want to take a look at the key takeaways from its UAP report, including the «concrete action» NASA is taking, you can read this round-up story by our technology reporter Tom Acres. 

As you know by now, NASA has released a report on UAPs created by its independent study team. 

The 36-page document covers all the team’s year-long findings so far – and it also reveals a range of photographs. 

Here are all the photos released in the report. 

By Tom Clarke, science and technology editor 

If you believe there are UFOs skimming over rooftops, or alien remains stored in secret storerooms in the New Mexico desert, today’s NASA briefing wasn’t for you.

But in terms of how governments and scientists manage the public fascination with extraterrestrials, today’s report from NASA is a significant one.

For starters UFOs are out. The acronym chosen by NASA is UAP – Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. Less catchy, but more scientifically accurate.

Because in the words of NASA administrator Bill Nelson their review of UAPs is designed to «shift the conversation around UAP from sensationalism to science». 

And according to the new report, there is currently no scientific evidence for UAPs being extraterrestrial.

But that doesn’t mean they should be ignored, it finds: «A vital part of NASA’s role is exploring the unknown». 

Ever since people have been spotting objects in the sky there’s been a problem. One that has helped fuel conjecture and conspiracy theories about what they are.

And that’s a lack of concrete data.

Most of these events are fleeting, one-offs. A shiny object on a video, or a blip on a radar screen. Without data, it’s very hard to prove what they are.

Among this report’s recommendations are that more of NASAs assets and data could be used to better understand unexplained sightings. Also, there could be more coordination and data sharing among civilian and commercial operators of radars and satellites to better understand the problem.

Given most UAP sightings that do get investigated turn out to be other aircraft, drones or balloons systems can be improved to spot them.

And in so doing, help identify the really curious ones that might, who knows, be of genuinely unexplained origin.

Put another way, «if you want to find a needle in a haystack, you better know what hay looks like», said astrophysicist Dr David Spergel who led the independent UAP committee for NASA.

There’s justification for the effort according to NASA. Simply because they are unidentified, UAPs could present a genuine risk to aviation. Knowing more about what and where they are is important for safety.

And that leads to another key conclusion of the report.

Many people, including professional pilots, are reluctant to report unexplained sightings because of the tin-foil hat stigma attached to «UFO» sightings.

The report recommends using standard aviation safety reporting systems to log UAP sightings as a way to «de-stigmatise» them.

That, NASA suggests will lead to more data, and more understanding.

A systematic study of the sky with instruments that can make observations 24/7 is needed to understand whether UAP phenomena are human-made or not, a Harvard University scientist says.

Professor Avi Loeb, professor of science at Harvard University, tells Sky News it is «excellent» to hear NASA had appointed a director of UAP research.

«It means we are likely to collect more evidence and that’s what we need in scientific inquiry,» he says.

«The worst we can have is the scientific community ignoring this subject, which is of great interest to the public and also now to government.»

Asked what he made of UAP footage, he says: «Well, the fundamental question is whether they are human-made.

«They seem to be technological. But we know about the balloons, drones that are operating in military sites, and we need to get the data about these incidents and analyse it more carefully.

«What is needed is a systematic study of the sky where we observe it 24/7 with instruments we have full control over, using satellite data NASA has access to and basically analysing it the scientific way, not based on eyewitness testimonies.

«Hopefully what was decided by NASA will bring us closer to this goal.»

Prof Loeb says the discovery of «technological gadgets manufactured by another civilisation» would be «exciting because we can learn something new about our future in technology and science».

He says there is «a national security aspect» to the report, adding: «The US wants to know if there are any adversarial nations that are spying on the US, and we saw the US shot down a Chinese spying balloon just last year.

«So the question is whether even one in a thousand such objects was manufactured by another entity outside of this earth. And for that we need a very careful scientific inquiry.»

After speaking for around an hour and answering several questions, the NASA media briefing has come to an end. 

Here’s a recap of what we learned: 

• NASA is appointing someone as its director of UAP research – but is withholding their name due to «actual threats» being made to its team
• The space agency is «looking for signs of life» both «past and present»
• NASA administrator Bill Nelson believes they will discover another habitable planet in the universe
• The presence of UAPs «raises serious concerns about the safety of our skies», according to Dan Evans, an assistant deputy associate administrator for research at NASA’s Science Mission Directorate
• Unfortunately, there is no evidence to suggest UAPs are extraterrestrial in origin

Stick around as we’ll have more reaction for you shortly. 

Earlier Dan Evans said the name of the new NASA director of UAP research has been withheld due to concerns over threats and harassment.

The panel is quizzed over whether this is NASA’s permanent position.

«Let’s not forget that we have only just received this report,» begins Mr Evans, assistant deputy associate administrator for research.

That person’s name could «potentially» be disclosed but we «need to ensure that the scientific process and method is free», he says.

In response to a secondary question on why the report did not cover classified information, Mr Evans says the study was restricted to unclassified data so that the panel could speak openly about it.

Another question is fired to the panel – this time about transparency. 

Bill Nelson, a NASA administrator, is asked: 

«How can you be sure at NASA that other parts of the US government are being transparent?»

It comes after former intelligence official David Grusch told Congress the US government is in possession of UAP and extraterrestrial life. 

Mr Nelson says he «does not speak for other parts of the government». 

Giving his personal opinion on Mr Grusch’s comments to Congress, he says: «Whatever he said, where’s the evidence?» 

«A long time ago there was a TV show, Jack Friday, and he used to say ‘just the facts’ – show me the evidence,» he adds. 

The panel is asked to comment on two allegedly «non-human» corpses displayed in Mexico.

The mummified specimens were displayed in glass cases as part of an official unveiling at Mexico’s Congress in a hearing which has stirred excitement among UFO enthusiasts.

Study chair David Spergel says he has only seen reports on X, formerly known as Twitter, and «we don’t know the nature of those samples».

He urged the Mexican government to make samples available to the world’s scientific community.

«One of the main things we’re trying to do here today is to move conjecture and conspiracy towards science and sanity and you do that with data,» adds Dan Evans, an assistant deputy associate administrator for research.

Read more about the story here…

Next we have a question from our science and technology editor Tom Clarke. 

He asks the panel: 

«How many assets or new research programmes will be devoted to this by the administration?» 

The associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate Nicola Fox responds, saying the agency «does not discuss» its budget «openly». 

«We are committed to supporting the whole of government study into UAP All of our data are open,» she adds. 

«What we need to find is a rocky planet around a hospitable star that isn’t too violent, that is just that right place that has signatures of water and signatures of carbon, so the building blocks of life,» she explains. 

To do that, NASA is using the James Webb Telescope and is launching the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope. 

Beyond that, the next big telescope that has been recommended to NASA is the Habitable Worlds Observatory. 

Ms Fox adds NASA is not going to launch a specific mission to look for extraterrestrial life, but it is considering providing research support into the subject. 

As NASA administrator Bill Nelson keeps stressing during the news briefing, today’s report was designed to offer the space agency some serious recommendations about how it can progress America’s understanding of UFOs (or UAPs).

The key recommendations outlined are:

• Play a larger role in the government-wide effort to understand UAP, using an evidence-based approach rooted in science
• Utilise its existing Earth observation tools, such as satellites, to investigate whether there are environmental conditions associated with UAP
• Enhance collaborations with the private US space industry, which offer powerful constellations of satellites, to look out for UAPs so we are less reliant on grainy camera footage for potential sightings
• Consider how AI and machine learning can be leveraged to help detect UAP and gather more data around sightings
• Improve public engagement, perhaps by looking into the development of a smartphone app to gather imaging data from citizen observers
• Better leverage the existing reporting system for commercial pilots who believe they have witnessed a UAP