NASA has appointed a research director to oversee efforts to investigate sightings of unidentified craft as it takes steps to develop a scientific, evidence-based approach to understanding unexplained events.
On Thursday, the agency initially said it would not name the official, but offered that the person had worked in the position for some time, NASA Associate Administrator Nicola Fox said. However, on Thursday, NASA backtracked and named its director Mark McInerney.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced the appointment Thursday at a press conference, shortly after the agency released a report detailing findings from an independent research team on how NASA can better identify UAPs, or unidentified anomalous phenomena. The panel recommends creating a systematic reporting framework that integrates greater use of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
“This is the first time NASA has taken concrete action to investigate UAPs,” Nelson said.
McInerney will be responsible for developing and overseeing the conduct of investigations into unidentifiable sightings of aerial events, commonly referred to as UFOs.
One of the reasons NASA originally wanted to keep the person’s identity secret was concerns about threats and intimidation that some panel members experienced in connection with UAP investigations, said Dan Evans, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for research. The panel nevertheless said NASA would remain transparent about what it finds in the sky.
In an update released Thursday afternoon that mentioned McInerney, NASA clarified that he was working as a NASA liaison to the Department of Defense — a role that allowed him to cover UAPs in a limited capacity.
Nelson said he wanted to remove the stigma surrounding UAP research and “shift the conversation from sensationalism to science.”