Nasa: space agency names new head of UFO research after insisting identity would remain a secret

Nasa has named a new head of research into unexplained phenomena in the sky just hours after refusing to do so. 

The American Space Agency said its new head of research into Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAPs would remain secret in a move to keep them from being abused. 

Nasa claims many of the publicly identified members of its research panel have been subject to threats and harassment. 

The announcement comes soon after the discussions of the panel's first report into UFOs which said that any research into UFOs needed to be more scientific and needs to make firm conclusions. There also needs to be less stigma and abuse of those doing their job. 

Nasa associate administrator Nicola Fox said that the space agency had appointed a new official to oversee the research and work with other federal agencies. But she told reporters that “we will not give his name out” for fear of reprisals but later that week Nasa released a blog post and named the new director - Mark McInerney.

“McInerney previously served as NASA’s liaison to the Department of Defense covering limited UAP activities for the agency,” it wrote. “In the director role, he will centralize communications, resources, and data analytical capabilities to establish a robust database for the evaluation of future UAP.

“He also will leverage NASA’s expertise in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and space-based observation tools to support and enhance the broader government initiative on UAP.”

The report released by Nasa is 33 pages where the panel stated that the negative perception surrounding UFOs poses an obstacle to collecting data.

“We want to shift the conversation about UAPs from sensationalism to science,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said as officials said Nasa's involvement should help reduce the stigma around what it calls UAPs. 

In the conference, Nelson stated that his “personal answer” is that there are vast numbers of inhabited planets throughout the universe. He explained: “With the James Webb (telescope) looking at the exoplanets, we are now beginning to discover, and somewhere out there we will discover another medium-sized sun or star at just the right distance… that has carbon, that will have a habitable atmosphere.

“If you ask me, do I believe there’s life in a universe that is so vast that it’s hard for me to comprehend how big it is? My personal answer is yes. But I asked some of our scientists: What is the mathematical probability that there is life out there in the universe?

“And if you calculate billions of stars in billions of galaxies that there’s replicated in what I just said, another stony planet, the answer is ‘at least a trillion’. That’s from our scientists.”