Plenty of explanations could be offered to explain reported sightings of strange flying objects often witnessed in the sky, some of which have appeared to outmaneuver military aircraft and even defy known laws of physics.
But there's one popular (conspiracy?) theory that is the favorite of many when any other natural explanation remains elusive: aliens.
Turns out, the head of NASA isn't himself opposed to the idea that extraterrestrials from distant worlds could be visiting us here on Earth. While NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman remains skeptical of otherworldly interpretations of UFO sightings, he said in a recent interview with NewsNation that he's staying "open-minded."
Here's a look at what the space agency chief thinks of all those UFO reports.
NASA chief Jared Isaacman says we should be 'open-minded' about UFOS
Isaacman, the administrator of NASA, sat down for a recent interview with broadcast journalist Blake Burman that aired Sept. 25 on NewsNation's "The Hill."
While the interview touched upon a range of space-related issues, Burman, NewsNation's chief Washington, D.C., correspondent, made a point to ask Isaacman what he thinks of the uptick in UFO reports across the U.S.
"Do you believe that anything that we've seen in any of this is potentially extraterrestrial? Is it military? What is it?" Burman asked Isaacman.
While Isaacman stopped short of speculating on extraterrestrial visitors, he did say his approach on UFO reports is to always "be open-minded."
"It is kind of our job to go out and try to answer the question 'are we alone?' And I said, look, if it's aliens, I think NASA should have a seat at the table in this for sure," Isaacman said.
Isaacman still suspects 'natural phenomena' behind UFO reports
Isaacman, though, was clear that the absence of a clear terrestrial explanation for UFO reports does not make an extraterrestrial one likely.
Far likelier explanations for sightings, Isaacman told Burman, is natural phenomena or an adversary testing new flight technology.
"Is this an adversary that's testing some next generation propulsion?" Isaacman said. "It's certainly in the realm of the possible."
Aliens, UFOs reenter mainstream as Trump declassifies UAP reports
Isaacman's comments come at a time of heightened public interest in the topic of aliens and UFOs.
A series of dramatic public hearings in Washington, D.C., has in recent years reignited age-old conspiracy theories that the government is concealing information about extraterrestrials that have visited Earth. Former President Barack Obama also made headlines in February when he appeared to admit that aliens are "real, but I haven't seen them," while appearing on a popular left-leaning podcast.
Amid the increased scrutiny, President Donald Trump has directed the Pentagon to begin releasing some files of investigations into UFO reports, which the government now refers to as unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP.
Government denies evidence UAP reports are extraterrestrials
The Pentagon's relatively new All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, tasked with investigating sightings, has repeatedly emphasized that it has never found evidence extraterrestrials are behind the reports.
Many sightings AARO has historically investigated are reported by military fighter pilots, some of whom have captured footage on jets' cockpit gun cameras of UAP.
NASA similarly put out a report of its own in September 2023, stating that the agency had not found any evidence that UAP were extraterrestrial in nature, though officials did advocate for further study of the phenomenon.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASA chief Jared Isaacman says we should stay 'open-minded' about UFOs
