Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Independent Study Team. Final Report

Brief

Commissioned in June 2022 and released in 2023, this 33-page report from a 16-expert panel chaired by David Spergel (Simons Foundation) evaluates how NASA's existing instruments and institutional capabilities can be applied to UAP study. The panel finds that current observations are hampered by poor sensor calibration, missing metadata, and no standardized civilian reporting infrastructure, not by a shortage of analytical methods. Key recommendations include integrating the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS, ~100,000 reports/year, 1.94 million total) for pilot UAP reports, deploying multispectral and SAR assets such as the forthcoming NISAR mission for direct UAP characterization, and using AI/ML anomaly-detection trained first on catalogued 'normal' phenomena such as solar glint and balloons. The panel explicitly declines to assess historical UAP incidents, framing the report entirely as a forward-looking data strategy.

Metadata

Category

Hub & Overview

Venue

NASA

Type

White paper

Year

2023

Authors

David Spergel, Anamaria Berea, Federica Bianco, Paula Bontempi, Reggie Brothers, Daniel Evans, Mike Gold, David Grinspoon, Scott Kelly, Matt Mountain, Warren Randolph, Karlin Toner, Shelley Wright, Joshua Semeter, Joan Vernikos, Walter Scott Hubbard

Access

Open access

Length

9.2 M

Programs

All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), Vera C. Rubin Observatory, GeoXO, NISAR, Breakthrough Listen

Instruments

Terra satellite, Aqua satellite, NEXRAD Doppler radar, MQ-9 UAV, NISAR SAR, Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites

Data sources

ASRS reports, FAA airspace data, DoD MQ-9 footage, Commercial satellite imagery

Tags

UAP-policy, data-acquisition, remote-sensing, stigma, technosignature, AI-ML

Key points

• NASA's Earth-observing satellites lack sufficient spatial resolution to detect UAP directly but can retroactively probe environmental and atmospheric conditions coincident with sightings initially detected by other means, using assets such as Terra and Aqua.p.13
• Commercial satellite constellations offering sub- to several-meter spatial resolution are 'well-matched to the typical spatial scales of known UAP,' though coverage of any given point on Earth is not continuous.p.12
• At present, UAP analysis is constrained by data quality rather than technique: obtaining higher-quality calibrated data is explicitly prioritized over developing new AI/ML methods.p.15
• AARO has begun constructing a 'normal' baseline by studying what conventional phenomena, solar glint, balloons, look like to military sensors; the panel calls this an essential prerequisite before anomaly searches.p.16
• There is currently no standardized Federal system for civilian UAP reporting; FAA guidelines direct citizens to contact local law enforcement or NGOs, which the panel calls inadequate for scientific inference.p.17
• The Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), administered by NASA for the FAA, has received more than 1,940,000 confidential reports over 47 years, averaging ~100,000 per year; the panel identifies it as a promising UAP data channel for commercial pilots.p.18
• MQ-9 footage of a South Asian object showing an apparent atmospheric wake or cavitation was assessed by AARO as a likely commercial aircraft; the wake feature was identified as a sensor artifact from video compression.p.12
• The panel recommends purpose-built future UAP sensors that can adjust on millisecond timescales, paired with alert systems that detect and distribute transient information rapidly.p.13

Verbatim

• “The negative perception surrounding the reporting of UAP poses an obstacle to collecting data on these phenomena.”

  p.6

• “At present, UAP analysis is more limited by the quality of data than by the availability of techniques.”

  p.15

• “Indeed, several apparent UAP have been demonstrated to be sensor artifacts once appropriate calibration and metadata scrutiny were applied.”

  p.13

• “It is increasingly clear that the majority of UAP observations can be attributed to known phenomena or occurences.”

  p.11

• “the absence of consistent, detailed, and curated observations means we do not presently have the body of data needed to make definitive, scientific conclusions about UAP.”

  p.9

Most interesting

• A silver, orb-like object filmed by an MQ-9 over the Middle East is described as remaining unidentified due to limited data, one of the few cases in the report where AARO did not resolve the observation.
• The ASRS program is housed at NASA Ames and staffed by NASA employees but is entirely funded by the FAA and is not part of NASA's aeronautics activity, an institutional anomaly the panel highlights when proposing its expansion for UAP use.
• The panel suggests expanding technosignature search programs, currently focused on Earth's atmosphere, outward to the entire solar system, and flags near-Earth object (NEO) databases as an untapped repository for anomaly characterization.
• Forthcoming SAR missions such as NISAR (NASA-ISRO joint satellite) could confirm anomalous UAP kinematics, rapid acceleration, high-G maneuvers, via Doppler signatures, providing a physically grounded test of extraordinary motion claims.
• The report was initiated when 'UAP' legally meant Unidentified Aerial Phenomena; Congress redefined the acronym to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena mid-study, expanding scope beyond airspace to undersea and trans-medium phenomena.
• NASA's appointment of a dedicated Director of UAP Research, announced in the foreword by Associate Administrator Nicola Fox, marked the first time the agency created an institutional position specifically for UAP coordination.