Aliens, Declassification, and NASA Skepticism: US Discourse on Extraterrestrial Life
- In the United States, discussions about extraterrestrial life have gained a political edge. Barack Obama suggested aliens may exist, while denying any personal sighting or hidden facilities at Area 51, prompting Donald Trump to demand declassification of all government documents on extraterrestrial life and UAPs. NASA responded with skepticism, emphasizing a commitment to open science. Spokesperson Bethany Stevens and administrator Jared Isaacman indicated that unexplained phenomena are more often tied to costly government programs than to aliens. - At a Phoenix conference, Dr. Gentry Lee of NASA called the idea of alien visitation a delusion, noting decades of observations yield no evidence of extraterrestrial craft and that most sightings have terrestrial explanations. He did acknowledge, however, that humanity should be prepared for biological forms radically different from Earth’s if contact occurs, and he argued that Earth’s biosphere is relatively uniform due to DNA, which could appear ordinary to advanced cosmic explorers. Overall, NASA maintains there is no evidence of extraterrestrial contact to date. - The piece also includes a fundraising note from a Ukrainian-based outlet urging support for independent reporting via Patreon to counter propaganda and continue telling Ukraine’s story, alongside standard social media follows.
Source: nv.ua
