Document · 14 September 2023
NASA Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Independent Study Team report (2023)
The final report of NASA's independent study team on UAP, published on 14 September 2023. Announced in June 2022, the team examined how NASA could help understand UAP with unclassified data. It concluded that the data needed for scientific conclusions do not yet exist, found no conclusive evidence of an extraterrestrial origin, and recommended systematic, multi-sensor data collection. It also includes a worked analysis showing that the GoFast object need not have been moving at extraordinary speed.
Sources: NASA, UAP Independent Study Team report (2023)
Facts and claims
- documented The study team, chaired by astrophysicist David Spergel, included retired astronaut Capt. Scott Kelly, Mike Gold, scientists, and FAA officials. Its sub-panel reports were deliberated at a public meeting on 31 May 2023. Source: doc-nasa-uap-study-2023.pdf
- documented The foreword says there are "limited high-quality observations" and that "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." Source: doc-nasa-uap-study-2023.pdf
- documented The report states: "To date, in the peer-reviewed scientific literature, there is no conclusive evidence suggesting an extraterrestrial origin for UAP." It calls extraterrestrial life "the hypothesis of last resort" and notes that Congress has made AARO the lead federal organisation for resolving UAP. Source: doc-nasa-uap-study-2023.pdf
- documented Analysing the Navy's GoFast video, the team finds that the object moved about 390 metres in 22 seconds, an average of about 40 mph, "a typical wind speed at 13,000 feet". It appears colder than the ocean, so "there is thus no evidence of heat produced by a propulsion system", which supports the view that it was most likely drifting with the wind. Source: doc-nasa-uap-study-2023.pdf
- documented It recommends that NASA use its Earth-observing satellites and commercial imagery, multispectral data, AI and machine-learning techniques and crowdsourced smartphone reporting, and help reduce the stigma of reporting, including through the aviation safety reporting system. Source: doc-nasa-uap-study-2023.pdf
Connected files
Claims
- The objects Navy F/A-18 crews tracked off the U.S. East Coast in 2014–15 were not conventional aircraft, drones or balloons (evidence against claim) — NASA found the GoFast object moving about 40 mph, “a typical wind speed at 13,000 feet”
- The U.S. government's official UAP investigations have found no verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial or non-human technology (evidence for claim) — NASA's panel: “there is no reason to conclude that existing UAP reports have an extraterrestrial source”
Organizations
- NASA (published by)
People
- Michael Gold (written with) — Gold was a member of NASA's UAP independent study team
Incidents
- USS Theodore Roosevelt encounters (Gimbal / GoFast) (analyses) — NASA's team finds the GoFast object moved about 40 mph, “a typical wind speed at 13,000 feet”
Programs
- All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (discusses) — It notes Congress has made AARO the lead federal organisation for resolving UAP
Videos
- Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth (discussed in)
- Understanding UAP: Science, National Security & Innovation (House Oversight and Government Reform) (discussed in)
- GoFast: the official U.S. Navy video (January 2015) (analysed) — NASA found the GoFast object moving about 40 mph, “a typical wind speed at 13,000 feet”
More documents
- AARO case resolution: "Go Fast" (2025)
- The Roswell Report: Case Closed (U.S. Air Force, 1997), summary
- AARO case slides for the Senate Armed Services subcommittee (19 November 2024)
- Fiscal Year 2025 Consolidated Annual Report on UAP (Department of War / AARO, July 2026)
- Fiscal Year 2024 Consolidated Annual Report on UAP (DoD / AARO, November 2024)
- Fiscal Year 2023 Consolidated Annual Report on UAP (ODNI and DoD, October 2023)