NASA's UFO task force meets today. You can watch it online with this free livestream

earth as seen from the international space station
Earth as seen from the International Space Station. (Image credit: NASA/JSC)

Update for 4:30 p.m. EDT on May 31: The first public meeting of NASA's UAP independent study group has concluded. Read our wrap story here or watch the replay below.


NASA will hold a historic public meeting on UFOs today (May 31) and you can watch it all live online in a free webcast.

The agency will hold a meeting of the "independent study group" it formed nearly a year ago in June 2022 in order to study data related to unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), a new term that encompasses objects or occurrences in the sky, underwater or in space that can't be immediately identified. The meeting will mark the first time the group has discussed the results of its UAP investigation in public. The four-hour meeting will be available to watch online courtesy of a free livestream on NASA TV beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET (1430 GMT).

Following the event, NASA will host an audio-only stream of a post-meeting media teleconference that will include Dan Evans of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, David Spergel, president, Chair of NASA's UAP independent study team and other members of the agency's UAP group.

Related: NASA UFO study team includes former astronaut, scientists and more

NASA created the group in order to examine all of the data it has available that might shed light on the UAP enigma and how it might help "move the scientific understanding of UAPs forward," according to a 2022 statement from the agency.

The 16-person study group includes former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly in addition to a wide variety of experts from academia, the aerospace and aviation industries and even one science journalist. The team is only studying unclassified data, according to a list of frequently asked questions the agency released.

Thomas Zurbuchen, the former associate administrator for science at NASA headquarters in Washington, said shortly after the group was announced that it was formed in part to "take a field that is relatively data poor and make it into a field that is much more data rich and therefore worthy of scientific investigation and analysis."

Related: 10 alien encounters debunked by science

NASA's study group is only one of several U.S. government-funded groups formed to study UAP. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense created an office to study unidentified objects in space, air and water, or even those that appear to travel between them. 

Despite studying hundreds of reported incidents involving UAP, the group's director told the Senate Committee on Armed Services in April that the group has uncovered "no credible evidence thus far of extraterrestrial activity, off-world technology or objects that defy the known laws of physics."

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Brett Tingley
Managing Editor, Space.com

Brett is curious about emerging aerospace technologies, alternative launch concepts, military space developments and uncrewed aircraft systems. Brett's work has appeared on Scientific American, The War Zone, Popular Science, the History Channel, Science Discovery and more. Brett has English degrees from Clemson University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In his free time, Brett enjoys skywatching throughout the dark skies of the Appalachian mountains.

  • Dave
    Let us hope we can find some credible answers to important questions. Leave your crude jokes at home. Intelligent lifeforms beyond earth do exist. Our galaxy is a habitat for both life and intelligent life. We are not alone.
    Let us hear about the hundreds of sightings by military personnel. What was Oumuamua? The answer appears to be: mind boggling mystery. When something is unexplainable or defies the laws of physics, simply tell us. What we need on this platform is scientific investigation and analysis. Too often we hear 'rederick' (for those who are unaware this word exists, even if you cannot find it in the dictionary.)
    Reply
  • COLGeek
    Rhetoric?

    Remember, an open mind goes both ways.

    https://www.definitions.net/definition/rederick
    Reply
  • Unclear Engineer
    Did you mean "rhetoric"?

    rhetoric noun
    rhet·o·ric ˈre-tə-rik
    Synonyms of rhetoric
    1
    : the art of speaking or writing effectively: such as
    a
    : the study of principles and rules of composition formulated by critics of ancient times
    b
    : the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion
    2
    a
    : skill in the effective use of speech
    b
    : a type or mode of language or speech
    also : insincere or grandiloquent language
    3
    : verbal communication : DISCOURSE


    Synonyms
    bombast
    fustian
    gas
    grandiloquence
    hot air
    oratory
    verbiage
    wind

    See https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rhetoric
    Reply
  • Prof. Potts
    And I was so convinced that rederick was a communist spy known only by the code name 'erick'
    Reply
  • murgatroyd
    Dave? That you, Dave?

    https://www.theblaze.com/news/ufos-aliens-stanford-professor
    Reply
  • billslugg
    Whenever I want the gold standard of opinions I always go to someone with expertise in an unrelated field who makes assertions backed up by invisible evidence.
    Reply
  • Dave
    Very informative forum. Definitely not the usual rederick. Thank you to all who participated. You are all respected experts in your fields.
    Scientists have some difficulty with a number of things .
    Firstly, the concept, we don't know what we don't know. We need to study the unexplainable. An example is Oumuamua. This is the proverbial finding a watch in the forest. It does not belong. NASA needs to be ready in the future. A ship or better yet explorers ready to be launched at a moments notice to study extraordinary evidence found in our star system of intelligent lifeforms observing humanity.
    This leads to the second difficulty. Stigma. Let's talk about the NEEDLE in the haystack. Over 300 million potentially habitable worlds in a galaxy that supports both life and intelligent life.
    On our world life completely dominates everything. When we find intelligent life less advanced than our own far in the future we will not contact a socially aggressive species. We will not give them that 'smoking gun.' Our astronauts say it best. They look down on our world and there are no borders. They see one race, the human race. When we achieve this on a social level THEY may contact us. Human problems they truly stymie us.
    Intelligent lifeforms may have been observing this forum today. This is what they observed.
    Tribes (countries) separated. Not acting as one to collaborate on the UAP or UFO phenomena.
    The ISS was one of our greatest achievements. It was a human endeavor. Let's build on it.
    We can do better. In the future, it is in the best interest of humanity, to do so.
    Reply
  • COLGeek
    Closing this one. Thanks to all who participated.
    Reply