NASA will contribute to the US government’s effort to understand the unusual occurrences by providing expertise in space-based observations, the report said, citing a NASA spokesperson. However, NASA will not establish a dedicated UAP office, the report added.
The space agency’s involvement will likely include reviewing footage and data from previous missions to help investigate UAP and gathering evidence from astronauts who may have had encounters with them in space, the report said.
NASA’s work will complement that being done by the Defence Department’s UAP task force, which was tasked by Congress with investigating whether UAP pose a threat in US airspace or elsewhere, the report also said.
US craft have had at least 11 “near misses” with UAP, Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Scott Bray said during a congressional hearing. The US government has neither attempted to communicate with the objects nor fire upon them, Bray added.
UAP appear to be unmanned and perhaps not in a controlled flight, according to Bray. No UAP wreckage has been recovered that is inconsistent with a terrestrial origin, according to the government.
The US government is committed to determining the origin of UAP, especially due to the potential flight safety and security risks they pose, Under Secretary of Defence for Intelligence and Security Ronald Moultrie said earlier.