1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:03,250 NARRATOR: In the 21st century, 2 00:00:03,333 --> 00:00:05,667 UFOs have gone from fringe science 3 00:00:05,708 --> 00:00:08,292 to mainstream obsession. 4 00:00:08,375 --> 00:00:11,792 JEREMY CORBELL: With the interest from so many agencies including NASA, 5 00:00:11,875 --> 00:00:15,792 everybody's getting into the game of understanding UFOs. 6 00:00:15,875 --> 00:00:18,833 NARRATOR: A new generation of researchers 7 00:00:18,917 --> 00:00:21,000 is employing technology so advanced 8 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:24,750 it can unlock clues invisible to the human eye. 9 00:00:24,833 --> 00:00:27,667 TRAVIS TAYLOR: We have physical scientific evidence 10 00:00:27,667 --> 00:00:31,583 of these phenomena existing with real scientific equipment. 11 00:00:31,708 --> 00:00:35,708 NARRATOR: And unidentified flying objects have even captured the attention 12 00:00:35,792 --> 00:00:39,500 of experts at the highest levels of government. 13 00:00:40,542 --> 00:00:44,000 The Pentagon is now seriously investigating 14 00:00:44,083 --> 00:00:46,458 the extraterrestrial question. 15 00:00:46,542 --> 00:00:49,833 NARRATOR: Is humankind now closer than ever 16 00:00:49,917 --> 00:00:52,250 to understanding the strange events 17 00:00:52,333 --> 00:00:55,292 that are happening in our skies? 18 00:00:55,375 --> 00:00:58,083 GEORGE KNAPP: We have a lot more information. We have a lot of cases. 19 00:00:58,167 --> 00:01:00,875 We have stories of people who've interacted with them. 20 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:02,542 It's an exciting time. 21 00:01:05,458 --> 00:01:07,083 NARRATOR: There is a doorway 22 00:01:07,167 --> 00:01:09,958 in the universe. 23 00:01:10,042 --> 00:01:14,333 Beyond it is the promise of truth. 24 00:01:14,375 --> 00:01:16,833 It demands we question everything 25 00:01:16,917 --> 00:01:19,417 we have ever been taught. 26 00:01:19,500 --> 00:01:23,042 The evidence is all around us. 27 00:01:23,125 --> 00:01:26,875 The future is right before our eyes. 28 00:01:26,958 --> 00:01:29,667 We are not alone. 29 00:01:29,792 --> 00:01:33,167 We have never been alone. 30 00:01:41,958 --> 00:01:45,667 NARRATOR: June 5, 2023. 31 00:01:45,792 --> 00:01:47,833 The news website The Debrief 32 00:01:47,875 --> 00:01:51,625 reports that former intelligence official David Grusch 33 00:01:51,708 --> 00:01:54,542 has given Congress classified information 34 00:01:54,625 --> 00:01:57,583 about deeply covert military programs 35 00:01:57,667 --> 00:02:00,625 that possess craft of non-human origin. 36 00:02:02,042 --> 00:02:04,667 The sensational report captures the attention 37 00:02:04,708 --> 00:02:08,125 of people at the highest levels of government. 38 00:02:08,208 --> 00:02:10,625 By law, we're required to take that seriously. 39 00:02:10,708 --> 00:02:13,125 The Inspector General has referred it to the committee 40 00:02:13,208 --> 00:02:16,042 as an urgent concern and one with some credibility 41 00:02:16,125 --> 00:02:17,625 to it, so we'll do our job. 42 00:02:17,708 --> 00:02:22,000 NARRATOR: David Grusch is just the latest in a number 43 00:02:22,042 --> 00:02:24,042 of high-level whistleblowers who have 44 00:02:24,167 --> 00:02:26,917 come forward in recent years with claims that 45 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:31,000 the U.S. government knows much more about the UFO phenomenon 46 00:02:31,042 --> 00:02:33,875 than they have disclosed to the public. 47 00:02:33,958 --> 00:02:36,833 I think this new report is interesting because it continues 48 00:02:36,875 --> 00:02:39,750 to show that we really have to talk about this. 49 00:02:39,875 --> 00:02:42,750 Now, I suspect that there's an undercurrent of "we'd really 50 00:02:42,875 --> 00:02:44,167 rather not talk about it," 51 00:02:44,250 --> 00:02:47,167 but there are people within the military 52 00:02:47,250 --> 00:02:50,208 who really wouldn't mind talking about this a little more 53 00:02:50,292 --> 00:02:52,042 because they're curious, too. 54 00:02:52,125 --> 00:02:54,208 Now, on the official end, at least, 55 00:02:54,292 --> 00:02:55,875 you can report these things 56 00:02:55,958 --> 00:02:59,042 without fear of retribution, and that wasn't always the case. 57 00:02:59,125 --> 00:03:03,083 NARRATOR: For the first time in history, members of Congress, 58 00:03:03,083 --> 00:03:06,333 senators, and even former presidents 59 00:03:06,500 --> 00:03:09,000 are openly talking about the possibility 60 00:03:09,083 --> 00:03:11,833 of an extraterrestrial presence on Earth. 61 00:03:21,583 --> 00:03:24,875 NARRATOR: This paradigm shift has emboldened whistleblowers 62 00:03:24,958 --> 00:03:27,292 like David Grusch to come forward 63 00:03:27,375 --> 00:03:30,292 with extraordinary claims 64 00:03:30,375 --> 00:03:35,167 and represents a major turning point in the hunt for UFOs. 65 00:03:36,625 --> 00:03:39,208 What makes the modern hunt for UFOs different 66 00:03:39,292 --> 00:03:41,042 than what we've seen in the past 67 00:03:41,125 --> 00:03:43,667 is the fact that it's becoming legitimized. 68 00:03:43,792 --> 00:03:47,833 We have recent revelations from the U.S. military 69 00:03:47,917 --> 00:03:50,500 talking about sightings that they've recorded 70 00:03:50,625 --> 00:03:53,500 and have finally released under some pressure. 71 00:03:53,583 --> 00:03:56,000 All these people are gonna come together 72 00:03:56,083 --> 00:03:57,917 to learn how to study UFOs, 73 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:02,542 UAPs as we now call them, which is a brilliant idea. 74 00:04:03,542 --> 00:04:06,458 GIORGIO A. TSOUKALOS: The Pentagon has been incredibly 75 00:04:06,542 --> 00:04:11,333 opened-minded suddenly to admit yes, 76 00:04:11,375 --> 00:04:13,167 we've investigated UFOs. 77 00:04:13,250 --> 00:04:16,333 But that is only half of the story 78 00:04:16,333 --> 00:04:20,208 because we know that they've been investigating 79 00:04:20,208 --> 00:04:22,500 UFOs even earlier, 80 00:04:22,583 --> 00:04:25,042 starting in the '40s and '50s. 81 00:04:25,125 --> 00:04:27,625 NARRATOR: In 1947, 82 00:04:27,708 --> 00:04:30,292 Air Force General Nathan Twining, 83 00:04:30,375 --> 00:04:33,167 head of the Air Technical Service Command, 84 00:04:33,292 --> 00:04:36,333 established a program known as Project Sign 85 00:04:36,417 --> 00:04:38,958 to collect and evaluate information 86 00:04:39,042 --> 00:04:41,625 about reported UFO sightings. 87 00:04:43,708 --> 00:04:47,583 Project Sign was a short-lived endeavor, about a year or so, 88 00:04:47,667 --> 00:04:50,375 and it was during that time that there was the reported 89 00:04:50,458 --> 00:04:52,167 "estimate of the situation," 90 00:04:52,208 --> 00:04:55,125 that said that this is a bonified phenomena 91 00:04:55,208 --> 00:04:56,667 and we need to study it. 92 00:04:56,750 --> 00:05:00,042 Following on the heels of Project Sign was Project Grudge, 93 00:05:00,125 --> 00:05:01,500 aptly named, 94 00:05:01,583 --> 00:05:04,000 which took a very dismissive tone 95 00:05:04,042 --> 00:05:07,792 to the phenomena and concluded there is nothing here. 96 00:05:07,875 --> 00:05:12,333 NARRATOR: At the conclusion of Project Grudge in 1952, 97 00:05:12,458 --> 00:05:15,833 the military created Project Blue Book. 98 00:05:15,917 --> 00:05:18,708 The program continued to collect and evaluate 99 00:05:18,792 --> 00:05:22,625 UFO data, but now in a more public fashion. 100 00:05:23,625 --> 00:05:27,500 Project Blue Book was largely not interested 101 00:05:27,583 --> 00:05:30,000 in whether there was a phenomena, 102 00:05:30,042 --> 00:05:33,500 but more in controlling the public narrative. 103 00:05:34,708 --> 00:05:37,000 PYLE: Project Blue Book really wasn't an open conversation. 104 00:05:37,083 --> 00:05:38,792 It was the Air Force looking through the stuff saying, 105 00:05:38,875 --> 00:05:41,250 "No, no, no, no, no, swamp gas, weather balloons, 106 00:05:41,333 --> 00:05:44,792 atmospheric effects, what have you, hyster-- mass hysteria." 107 00:05:44,875 --> 00:05:46,667 They're putting out a report and saying, 108 00:05:46,750 --> 00:05:48,167 "Nothing to see here, move along." 109 00:05:48,250 --> 00:05:52,792 NARRATOR: Between 1947 and 1969, 110 00:05:52,875 --> 00:05:56,750 investigators working on Projects Sign, Grudge, 111 00:05:56,875 --> 00:05:59,333 and Blue Book collectively reviewed 112 00:05:59,417 --> 00:06:02,917 over 12,000 sightings worldwide. 113 00:06:03,042 --> 00:06:07,625 However, on December 17, 1969, 114 00:06:07,708 --> 00:06:10,708 Air Force officials announced that they had concluded 115 00:06:10,792 --> 00:06:14,292 their inquiries into the UFO phenomena. 116 00:06:14,375 --> 00:06:17,250 The government said, "There's nothing to investigate, 117 00:06:17,333 --> 00:06:19,833 but, by the way, there's 701 unexplained cases." 118 00:06:19,958 --> 00:06:22,875 So, they didn't explain why they didn't explain those cases. 119 00:06:22,958 --> 00:06:25,833 They just said, "Um, there's nothing worth pursuing here." 120 00:06:25,917 --> 00:06:28,500 NARRATOR: When Project Blue Book 121 00:06:28,625 --> 00:06:31,250 concluded with 701 UFO cases 122 00:06:31,333 --> 00:06:33,750 left still unexplained, 123 00:06:33,875 --> 00:06:38,000 UFO researchers were skeptical about the government's claim 124 00:06:38,042 --> 00:06:41,208 that they were no longer interested in the phenomenon. 125 00:06:41,292 --> 00:06:44,000 Decades later, it came to light 126 00:06:44,042 --> 00:06:45,708 that the U.S. government 127 00:06:45,708 --> 00:06:49,042 was secretly investigating UFOs once again. 128 00:06:50,542 --> 00:06:54,667 In 2007, the Department of Defense established 129 00:06:54,750 --> 00:06:57,750 the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, 130 00:06:57,875 --> 00:06:59,083 or AATIP, 131 00:06:59,167 --> 00:07:01,750 a highly classified project 132 00:07:01,833 --> 00:07:06,500 tasked with investigating unidentified aerial phenomena. 133 00:07:06,542 --> 00:07:09,000 AATIP was officially acknowledged 134 00:07:09,042 --> 00:07:11,792 by the Pentagon in 2017, 135 00:07:11,875 --> 00:07:15,833 but soon after, it was discovered that the government 136 00:07:15,875 --> 00:07:19,542 had a second top secret UFO program underway. 137 00:07:20,625 --> 00:07:23,417 Since 2017, there's been a lot more digging 138 00:07:23,500 --> 00:07:25,167 and revelations that have gone on. 139 00:07:25,208 --> 00:07:28,958 It turns out the program was actually called AAWSAP, 140 00:07:29,042 --> 00:07:32,917 the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Application Program. 141 00:07:33,042 --> 00:07:36,292 KNAPP: AAWSAP was the biggest UFO program 142 00:07:36,375 --> 00:07:37,583 in the history of our government. 143 00:07:37,667 --> 00:07:39,833 They had 50 full-time investigators. 144 00:07:39,917 --> 00:07:41,417 You think about Project Blue Book, 145 00:07:41,542 --> 00:07:43,458 they had a handful of people working on it full-time. 146 00:07:43,542 --> 00:07:46,083 50 full-time investigators 147 00:07:46,167 --> 00:07:48,500 who traveled all over the country, all over the world, 148 00:07:48,667 --> 00:07:50,083 gathering information, 149 00:07:50,208 --> 00:07:54,333 and they created the world's largest UFO database. 150 00:07:54,375 --> 00:07:56,875 200,000 cases. 151 00:07:56,958 --> 00:07:58,542 And none of it has been made public. 152 00:07:58,667 --> 00:07:59,958 None of it has been released. 153 00:08:01,208 --> 00:08:02,958 NARRATOR: In 2020, 154 00:08:03,042 --> 00:08:06,417 the U.S. government established yet another program 155 00:08:06,500 --> 00:08:08,667 within the Department of Defense 156 00:08:08,667 --> 00:08:10,958 called the UAP Task Force. 157 00:08:11,042 --> 00:08:14,292 Its mission was to scientifically investigate 158 00:08:14,375 --> 00:08:16,625 and analyze military encounters 159 00:08:16,708 --> 00:08:19,500 with unidentified aerial phenomena. 160 00:08:19,583 --> 00:08:23,083 The chief scientist assigned to the task force 161 00:08:23,167 --> 00:08:24,833 was Dr. Travis Taylor, 162 00:08:24,958 --> 00:08:28,417 who has worked on various government and military projects 163 00:08:28,542 --> 00:08:30,750 going back decades. 164 00:08:30,833 --> 00:08:33,917 He was offered the position while investigating 165 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:37,833 anomalous events on Skinwalker Ranch in Utah. 166 00:08:39,125 --> 00:08:40,583 After the first couple of weeks 167 00:08:40,708 --> 00:08:42,417 that I had come out to Skinwalker Ranch, 168 00:08:42,542 --> 00:08:44,500 we made some measurements that startled me. 169 00:08:44,583 --> 00:08:47,667 I thought the measurements looked real similar 170 00:08:47,708 --> 00:08:49,667 to electronic warfare 171 00:08:49,750 --> 00:08:52,250 or non-lethal human weapons systems. 172 00:08:52,333 --> 00:08:56,042 So I reported this, and I was invited to the Pentagon 173 00:08:56,125 --> 00:08:59,375 to give a presentation on what I had seen. 174 00:08:59,458 --> 00:09:02,750 The director of the UAP Task Force came into the meeting 175 00:09:02,833 --> 00:09:06,000 and invited me to join the task force. 176 00:09:07,333 --> 00:09:11,417 NARRATOR: Dr. Taylor and his colleagues at the UAP Task Force 177 00:09:11,500 --> 00:09:14,250 analyzed 144 cases 178 00:09:14,333 --> 00:09:17,750 documented by military personnel around the world, 179 00:09:17,875 --> 00:09:21,167 including photographic and video evidence, 180 00:09:21,208 --> 00:09:25,667 as well as scientific data taken of the encounters. 181 00:09:25,708 --> 00:09:29,500 On June 25, 2021, 182 00:09:29,583 --> 00:09:32,292 their preliminary findings were presented 183 00:09:32,375 --> 00:09:34,250 to the Congressional Intelligence 184 00:09:34,333 --> 00:09:37,167 and Armed Services Committees. 185 00:09:37,292 --> 00:09:39,167 TAYLOR: Of those 144 cases, 186 00:09:39,250 --> 00:09:42,125 only one of them we were able to actually find 187 00:09:42,208 --> 00:09:43,500 was of terrestrial origin. 188 00:09:43,625 --> 00:09:45,792 It was something like a high-altitude balloon 189 00:09:45,875 --> 00:09:48,083 that was being used for scientific, uh, equipment. 190 00:09:48,167 --> 00:09:52,000 But 143 of the 144 191 00:09:52,083 --> 00:09:56,875 was actually unexplainable with the data that we had. 192 00:09:56,958 --> 00:09:59,167 I get asked all the time, "Tell us the things 193 00:09:59,250 --> 00:10:00,625 that hasn't been released to the public yet." 194 00:10:00,708 --> 00:10:01,833 Well, I can't do that, of course. 195 00:10:01,958 --> 00:10:03,750 I-I signed non-disclosure agreements. 196 00:10:03,833 --> 00:10:05,750 And unless the government releases it 197 00:10:05,833 --> 00:10:08,292 as public information, I can't talk about it. 198 00:10:09,375 --> 00:10:12,750 NARRATOR: Could the U.S. government's UAP investigations 199 00:10:12,833 --> 00:10:15,167 have discovered important information 200 00:10:15,250 --> 00:10:19,250 that is being intentionally hidden from the public? 201 00:10:19,375 --> 00:10:21,167 And, if so, 202 00:10:21,250 --> 00:10:24,500 might we soon learn of even more astounding evidence 203 00:10:24,583 --> 00:10:26,917 that has yet to be revealed? 204 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:30,208 While the government still operates largely in secrecy, 205 00:10:30,208 --> 00:10:34,333 the hunt for UFOs has now been taken up 206 00:10:34,417 --> 00:10:37,500 by mainstream scientists and academics, 207 00:10:37,583 --> 00:10:40,000 and some of them are convinced 208 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,000 that we may already have proof 209 00:10:42,125 --> 00:10:45,583 of an intelligent alien civilization. 210 00:10:53,333 --> 00:10:56,125 NARRATOR: Ithaca, New York. 211 00:10:56,208 --> 00:10:57,792 1960. 212 00:10:57,875 --> 00:11:00,583 At Cornell University, 213 00:11:00,667 --> 00:11:02,708 astronomer Frank Drake 214 00:11:02,833 --> 00:11:05,500 launches the first search for alien life 215 00:11:05,542 --> 00:11:08,042 performed by an academic institution. 216 00:11:09,375 --> 00:11:11,750 Using a massive radio telescope, 217 00:11:11,833 --> 00:11:14,875 Drake and his team scan the cosmos 218 00:11:14,958 --> 00:11:17,125 for evidence of radio signals 219 00:11:17,208 --> 00:11:21,042 that could be coming from an extraterrestrial civilization. 220 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:25,667 While the Cornell program 221 00:11:25,792 --> 00:11:28,000 ultimately found nothing of interest, 222 00:11:28,125 --> 00:11:31,917 it paved the way for similar scientific efforts. 223 00:11:33,042 --> 00:11:36,042 The most prominent is the SETI Institute, 224 00:11:36,125 --> 00:11:40,333 which stands for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. 225 00:11:41,667 --> 00:11:44,292 SETH SHOSTAK: The kind of experiment that we do at the SETI Institute 226 00:11:44,375 --> 00:11:45,667 is a listening experiment. 227 00:11:45,708 --> 00:11:47,833 The idea is fairly straightforward. 228 00:11:47,958 --> 00:11:49,750 We're gonna aim some antennas in the direction 229 00:11:49,833 --> 00:11:52,167 of that little star over there, which is not too far away, 230 00:11:52,292 --> 00:11:55,042 and might have some planets, and you know, tune as much 231 00:11:55,125 --> 00:11:57,167 of the radio dials as we can to see if we pick up a signal. 232 00:11:58,292 --> 00:12:01,000 You have to look at a lot of stars in order to catch one 233 00:12:01,083 --> 00:12:04,083 that happens to be broadcasting into space now. 234 00:12:05,125 --> 00:12:07,833 So, that's basically the strategy. 235 00:12:07,917 --> 00:12:11,042 You're just trying to find something 236 00:12:11,167 --> 00:12:12,833 that indicates there's somebody up there 237 00:12:12,917 --> 00:12:14,292 at least as clever as we are. 238 00:12:15,500 --> 00:12:18,542 NARRATOR: SETI astronomers have been listening to the cosmos 239 00:12:18,625 --> 00:12:20,917 since 1984, 240 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:23,792 and in that time, they have come across 241 00:12:23,875 --> 00:12:26,167 some truly bizarre phenomena, 242 00:12:26,250 --> 00:12:30,625 like an anomaly, first detected in 2007, 243 00:12:30,625 --> 00:12:34,375 known as an FRB, or fast radio burst. 244 00:12:37,083 --> 00:12:39,167 SHOSTAK: Fast radio bursts were found 245 00:12:39,208 --> 00:12:42,250 by an astronomer at West Virginia University, 246 00:12:42,250 --> 00:12:44,750 and he found a signal 247 00:12:44,833 --> 00:12:47,042 that only lasted for a fraction of a second. 248 00:12:48,042 --> 00:12:49,333 Just like... (imitates burst) like that, 249 00:12:49,500 --> 00:12:52,125 about the time it takes your eye to blink, okay? 250 00:12:52,208 --> 00:12:54,625 And it went from high frequency, to lower frequency. 251 00:12:54,708 --> 00:12:55,750 (imitates burst) 252 00:12:56,750 --> 00:12:58,250 So, the question is: 253 00:12:58,375 --> 00:13:00,292 All right, where are they coming from, and what are they? 254 00:13:00,375 --> 00:13:03,708 And if it's very far away-- as they turned out to be-- 255 00:13:03,833 --> 00:13:05,750 it's in somebody else's galaxy, 256 00:13:05,833 --> 00:13:08,833 and we can pick it up here on Earth, 257 00:13:08,917 --> 00:13:11,167 it's got to be something that's really powerful. 258 00:13:11,250 --> 00:13:14,167 But we still don't know what fast radio bursts are. 259 00:13:15,375 --> 00:13:17,250 NARRATOR: While researchers continue to search 260 00:13:17,375 --> 00:13:19,792 for the source of the fast radio bursts, 261 00:13:19,875 --> 00:13:22,958 another, perhaps even more intriguing, 262 00:13:23,042 --> 00:13:26,875 celestial phenomenon has been observed in recent years, 263 00:13:26,958 --> 00:13:30,042 interstellar objects, meaning objects 264 00:13:30,125 --> 00:13:34,000 from other star systems, entering our solar system. 265 00:13:34,042 --> 00:13:37,458 The first interstellar visitor ever detected 266 00:13:37,542 --> 00:13:41,375 was a strange, oblong object called "'Oumuamua." 267 00:13:42,417 --> 00:13:46,500 'Oumuamua was discovered by a telescope in Hawaii 268 00:13:46,542 --> 00:13:47,792 called Pan-STARRS 269 00:13:47,875 --> 00:13:50,792 on October 19, 2017. 270 00:13:50,875 --> 00:13:54,750 And the size of 'Oumuamua was roughly 271 00:13:54,833 --> 00:13:57,125 the size of a football field, 272 00:13:57,208 --> 00:14:00,167 somewhere between 100 and 200 meters. 273 00:14:00,208 --> 00:14:04,000 NARRATOR: Astronomer Dr. Avi Loeb of Harvard University 274 00:14:04,083 --> 00:14:06,917 sent shockwaves through the world of academia 275 00:14:07,042 --> 00:14:10,917 when, shortly after 'Oumuamua was detected, 276 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:13,000 he made the extraordinary claim 277 00:14:13,083 --> 00:14:14,958 that the interstellar object 278 00:14:15,042 --> 00:14:18,542 may be some type of extraterrestrial craft. 279 00:14:18,625 --> 00:14:21,042 RICHARD DOLAN: Avi Loeb did a very detailed analysis 280 00:14:21,125 --> 00:14:23,750 of 'Oumuamua and noted that 281 00:14:23,875 --> 00:14:27,625 its acceleration after it passed the sun was-was 282 00:14:27,625 --> 00:14:29,917 beyond what you would get from a gravitational boost. 283 00:14:30,042 --> 00:14:32,083 So that was interesting 284 00:14:32,167 --> 00:14:35,167 and difficult immediately to explain. 285 00:14:36,208 --> 00:14:39,958 Professor Loeb said that 'Oumuamua behaved 286 00:14:40,042 --> 00:14:42,000 artificially, unnaturally. 287 00:14:42,042 --> 00:14:46,042 He pointed to multiple areas 288 00:14:46,125 --> 00:14:49,125 like speed, acceleration, trajectory, 289 00:14:49,125 --> 00:14:51,833 where he said this was artificial. 290 00:14:51,875 --> 00:14:55,625 So, in every respect, 291 00:14:55,708 --> 00:14:58,125 this thing raised some big questions. 292 00:14:59,167 --> 00:15:02,958 A lot of people who would've disregarded 293 00:15:03,042 --> 00:15:04,875 somebody else saying that 294 00:15:04,958 --> 00:15:07,667 as being kind of wacky, 295 00:15:07,750 --> 00:15:09,583 said, "You know, this is the chairman 296 00:15:09,667 --> 00:15:12,417 "of the department at Harvard. This is somebody we respect. 297 00:15:12,500 --> 00:15:14,417 Maybe we got to have this conversation." 298 00:15:14,500 --> 00:15:19,333 So, I think Loeb was very courageous to do that. 299 00:15:20,417 --> 00:15:24,042 LOEB: Only over the past five years, the first interstellar objects 300 00:15:24,125 --> 00:15:26,792 were discovered by astronomers, 301 00:15:26,875 --> 00:15:29,167 and that's what brought me to the subject, 302 00:15:29,250 --> 00:15:31,833 and, hopefully, within the coming decades, 303 00:15:31,875 --> 00:15:34,000 we'll have some evidence that tells us 304 00:15:34,125 --> 00:15:37,250 whether 'Oumuamua was from another civilization. 305 00:15:37,333 --> 00:15:40,292 And the way to find out is not to argue about it 306 00:15:40,375 --> 00:15:43,708 philosophically, but rather to look at the sky. 307 00:15:43,792 --> 00:15:46,583 So, I established the Galileo Project 308 00:15:46,667 --> 00:15:50,000 in July 2021 to search 309 00:15:50,083 --> 00:15:54,167 for objects that may be artificial in origin, 310 00:15:54,208 --> 00:15:55,792 from another civilization. 311 00:15:55,875 --> 00:15:58,333 NARRATOR: In 2021, 312 00:15:58,375 --> 00:16:00,667 Professor Loeb and his colleagues 313 00:16:00,708 --> 00:16:03,958 raised nearly $2 million 314 00:16:04,042 --> 00:16:06,667 and founded The Galileo Project, 315 00:16:06,708 --> 00:16:09,333 the largest effort to research UAPs 316 00:16:09,417 --> 00:16:12,000 in the history of the academic world. 317 00:16:12,125 --> 00:16:15,458 Using a network of new and existing telescopes, 318 00:16:15,542 --> 00:16:19,333 as well as a variety of sky-scanning technologies, 319 00:16:19,417 --> 00:16:23,167 the Galileo Project aims to systematically search 320 00:16:23,250 --> 00:16:25,958 for possible extraterrestrial objects 321 00:16:26,042 --> 00:16:30,042 both in space and within Earth's own atmosphere. 322 00:16:30,125 --> 00:16:33,167 LOEB: Within the Galileo Project, we are planning 323 00:16:33,250 --> 00:16:36,542 to design a space mission when the next 324 00:16:36,625 --> 00:16:38,667 unusual interstellar object, 325 00:16:38,667 --> 00:16:40,250 like 'Oumuamua, shows up, 326 00:16:40,375 --> 00:16:43,125 and we might send a probe 327 00:16:43,208 --> 00:16:45,708 that will take a close-up photograph of it. 328 00:16:45,833 --> 00:16:48,958 An object like 'Oumuamua 329 00:16:49,042 --> 00:16:52,000 could potentially be of artificial origin 330 00:16:52,083 --> 00:16:55,000 and indicate spacecraft that were sent 331 00:16:55,042 --> 00:16:57,167 by other civilizations. 332 00:16:57,167 --> 00:16:59,000 That would have huge implications 333 00:16:59,125 --> 00:17:00,750 for the future of humanity. 334 00:17:00,833 --> 00:17:05,042 NARRATOR: Professor Loeb is hopeful that the Galileo Project 335 00:17:05,125 --> 00:17:08,375 will help pave the way for other scientists to search 336 00:17:08,458 --> 00:17:10,875 for evidence of extraterrestrial life 337 00:17:10,875 --> 00:17:14,333 without fear of ridicule or repercussions. 338 00:17:14,375 --> 00:17:17,167 It is for this reason that he named his project 339 00:17:17,250 --> 00:17:19,917 after the Italian astronomer Galileo, 340 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:22,708 who was persecuted in the 17th century 341 00:17:22,833 --> 00:17:24,333 for daring to challenge 342 00:17:24,458 --> 00:17:28,292 the established scientific notions of the time. 343 00:17:28,375 --> 00:17:31,583 So, the philosophers during the days of Galileo 344 00:17:31,667 --> 00:17:33,750 refused to look through his telescope 345 00:17:33,833 --> 00:17:37,333 when he was arguing that the evidence he finds 346 00:17:37,417 --> 00:17:41,167 implies that the Earth moves around the sun. 347 00:17:41,250 --> 00:17:44,167 They wanted to believe that the Earth 348 00:17:44,250 --> 00:17:46,458 is the center of the universe, 349 00:17:46,542 --> 00:17:50,167 and so, they simply avoided the data, 350 00:17:50,292 --> 00:17:52,833 and they put him in house arrest, 351 00:17:52,875 --> 00:17:54,625 so that nobody would listen to him. 352 00:17:54,708 --> 00:17:57,958 So, of course, if there is ridicule and stigma 353 00:17:58,042 --> 00:18:01,250 and we don't want to fund the searches, 354 00:18:01,333 --> 00:18:04,417 then we will be exactly in the same position as those 355 00:18:04,500 --> 00:18:07,667 philosophers who refused to look through Galileo's telescope. 356 00:18:07,792 --> 00:18:11,500 If we are open-minded and willing to consider 357 00:18:11,542 --> 00:18:14,167 that possibility that we are not alone, 358 00:18:14,292 --> 00:18:17,333 and that we are not the smartest kid on the cosmic block, 359 00:18:17,417 --> 00:18:19,500 then we might find something. 360 00:18:19,542 --> 00:18:24,083 NARRATOR: While government UFO research remains top secret, 361 00:18:24,167 --> 00:18:26,333 data gathered by the Galileo Project 362 00:18:26,458 --> 00:18:28,625 will be open to the public, 363 00:18:28,708 --> 00:18:32,000 with findings published in peer-reviewed journals. 364 00:18:32,083 --> 00:18:35,000 The academic community's growing interest 365 00:18:35,042 --> 00:18:41,125 in unidentified aerial phenomena marks a new age of UFO hunting. 366 00:18:41,208 --> 00:18:44,500 An age that now includes scientific studies 367 00:18:44,583 --> 00:18:47,542 by the world's premier space organization, 368 00:18:47,625 --> 00:18:49,500 NASA. 369 00:18:55,250 --> 00:18:59,167 NARRATOR: French Guiana. December 25, 2021. 370 00:18:59,250 --> 00:19:01,375 MAN: We have liftoff. Décollage. 371 00:19:01,458 --> 00:19:03,167 Liftoff from a tropical rainforest 372 00:19:03,250 --> 00:19:05,167 to the edge of time itself. 373 00:19:05,208 --> 00:19:07,208 NARRATOR: At the Guiana Space Centre, 374 00:19:07,292 --> 00:19:11,083 NASA launches the most powerful telescope ever constructed. 375 00:19:11,208 --> 00:19:14,167 The James Webb Space Telescope 376 00:19:14,208 --> 00:19:18,250 represents an ambitious $10 billion effort by NASA 377 00:19:18,333 --> 00:19:20,333 to see further than ever before 378 00:19:20,375 --> 00:19:22,667 into the deepest parts of the universe. 379 00:19:23,708 --> 00:19:27,708 Nearly six months into its mission, on July 11th, 380 00:19:27,792 --> 00:19:31,500 James Webb delivers its first incredible images 381 00:19:31,583 --> 00:19:37,250 of previously unknown galaxies, stars forming, and black holes. 382 00:19:37,333 --> 00:19:41,833 To many, the early success of this powerful tool 383 00:19:41,917 --> 00:19:45,417 demonstrates new promise that scientists may soon answer 384 00:19:45,542 --> 00:19:49,667 an age-old question: Are we alone in the universe? 385 00:19:51,125 --> 00:19:55,458 We can now look into space with more clarity 386 00:19:55,542 --> 00:19:59,208 than in all of our previous human history. 387 00:19:59,292 --> 00:20:01,750 And with the new James Webb Telescope, 388 00:20:01,833 --> 00:20:04,083 some of those amazing images 389 00:20:04,208 --> 00:20:07,500 that we've gotten from Hubble 20, 30 years ago, 390 00:20:07,542 --> 00:20:13,333 now are even more rich, more detailed, more amazing. 391 00:20:13,375 --> 00:20:15,625 And with James Webb, too, you know, 392 00:20:15,708 --> 00:20:18,417 we will discover more and more exoplanets. 393 00:20:18,500 --> 00:20:20,417 And some of those exoplanets 394 00:20:20,542 --> 00:20:25,333 may contain similar intelligent life like on Earth. 395 00:20:25,375 --> 00:20:27,500 PYLE: Part of what the Webb Space Telescope 396 00:20:27,583 --> 00:20:30,208 is designed to do is to look 397 00:20:30,292 --> 00:20:32,375 for planets that exist in what's called 398 00:20:32,458 --> 00:20:34,958 the-the habitable or the Goldilocks zone. 399 00:20:35,042 --> 00:20:38,333 So, they're the right distance from that kind of star 400 00:20:38,417 --> 00:20:42,125 to possibly be able to support life. 401 00:20:42,208 --> 00:20:46,000 Looking in the future, ten, 20 years, 402 00:20:46,083 --> 00:20:48,083 I think, and a lot of people 403 00:20:48,167 --> 00:20:49,667 that are a lot smarter than me think, 404 00:20:49,750 --> 00:20:52,667 that we're probably gonna have found something 405 00:20:52,708 --> 00:20:56,333 we can classify as extraterrestrial life. 406 00:20:57,375 --> 00:20:59,250 NARRATOR: Considering the amazing images 407 00:20:59,333 --> 00:21:02,417 that the James Webb Space Telescope has produced, 408 00:21:02,542 --> 00:21:06,208 UFO hunters are asking, what would we find 409 00:21:06,208 --> 00:21:09,167 if NASA applied their incredible technology 410 00:21:09,292 --> 00:21:11,833 to search for evidence of extraterrestrials 411 00:21:11,875 --> 00:21:14,000 already visiting Earth? 412 00:21:14,042 --> 00:21:17,042 The question may soon be answered 413 00:21:17,125 --> 00:21:20,833 because, on June 9, 2022, 414 00:21:20,917 --> 00:21:22,708 one month before the release 415 00:21:22,708 --> 00:21:25,333 of the first Webb telescope images, 416 00:21:25,375 --> 00:21:28,875 NASA officials announced their plans to commission 417 00:21:28,958 --> 00:21:31,542 an independent study on UAPs. 418 00:21:31,625 --> 00:21:33,500 BLUMENTHAL: When you think of it, 419 00:21:33,542 --> 00:21:36,875 NASA is the perfect organization to conduct research. 420 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:38,417 They run the Space Station. 421 00:21:38,417 --> 00:21:41,667 They have satellites that probe deep into space. 422 00:21:41,792 --> 00:21:44,667 They have interstellar missions out there 423 00:21:44,708 --> 00:21:47,042 in the far reaches of the cosmos. 424 00:21:47,125 --> 00:21:49,000 If they're coming into our atmosphere 425 00:21:49,125 --> 00:21:51,667 from-from deep outer space, 426 00:21:51,708 --> 00:21:55,208 NASA would be the first one, uh, to be able to detect that. 427 00:21:55,292 --> 00:22:00,042 NARRATOR: On May 31, 2023, 428 00:22:00,125 --> 00:22:01,917 NASA held its first public hearing 429 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:05,792 to discuss the agency's mission in studying UAPs. 430 00:22:05,875 --> 00:22:08,292 And it's now our collective responsibility 431 00:22:08,375 --> 00:22:10,125 to investigate these occurrences 432 00:22:10,208 --> 00:22:14,125 with the rigorous scientific scrutiny that they deserve. 433 00:22:14,208 --> 00:22:16,500 It provides an opportunity for us 434 00:22:16,542 --> 00:22:20,583 to expand our understanding of the world around us. 435 00:22:20,667 --> 00:22:23,333 As an organization dedicated to exploring 436 00:22:23,375 --> 00:22:26,917 the unknown, this work is in our DNA. 437 00:22:28,333 --> 00:22:31,000 NARRATOR: Could the unprecedented efforts of NASA 438 00:22:31,083 --> 00:22:33,208 to join the hunt for UFOs 439 00:22:33,292 --> 00:22:35,500 ultimately provide the tipping point 440 00:22:35,625 --> 00:22:38,958 in finding evidence of extraterrestrial life? 441 00:22:39,042 --> 00:22:40,792 And is it possible, 442 00:22:40,875 --> 00:22:44,458 as ancient astronaut theorists suggest, that NASA 443 00:22:44,542 --> 00:22:46,750 already possesses strong evidence 444 00:22:46,833 --> 00:22:51,083 that intelligent beings exist beyond Earth? 445 00:22:51,167 --> 00:22:54,083 NASA's experience with UFOs... 446 00:22:55,542 --> 00:22:57,208 ...dates right through 447 00:22:57,292 --> 00:23:00,167 from the very first Gemini missions, 448 00:23:00,250 --> 00:23:03,333 all the way through the Apollo missions, 449 00:23:03,417 --> 00:23:06,875 all the way through to the Moon landings, 450 00:23:06,958 --> 00:23:09,875 we have encountered UFOs. 451 00:23:09,958 --> 00:23:12,375 Former Apollo, uh, astronaut Edgar Mitchel, 452 00:23:12,458 --> 00:23:13,458 who I-I knew personally, 453 00:23:13,583 --> 00:23:15,875 spoke openly about his knowledge 454 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,667 of not even just having seen UFOs but alien bodies 455 00:23:19,750 --> 00:23:22,542 and technology in the possession of the United States government. 456 00:23:22,625 --> 00:23:24,875 You had other NASA astronauts, Gordon Cooper, 457 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:28,333 famously talked about UFOs that he saw as a pilot. 458 00:23:28,375 --> 00:23:31,542 You had James McDivitt, a NASA astronaut, 459 00:23:31,625 --> 00:23:34,000 and-and quite a few others having seen UFOs. 460 00:23:35,042 --> 00:23:37,667 There's the astonishing photo of a triangular craft 461 00:23:37,750 --> 00:23:40,583 taken in 1986 from the space shuttle. 462 00:23:40,667 --> 00:23:45,333 And it, too, is a-a bright daylight photograph, 463 00:23:45,375 --> 00:23:48,375 and you can clearly see this triangular craft 464 00:23:48,458 --> 00:23:51,500 there outside the window of the space shuttle. 465 00:23:51,583 --> 00:23:55,542 Now, the image is labeled "space debris." 466 00:23:55,667 --> 00:23:58,625 So, that's-that's the official view 467 00:23:58,708 --> 00:24:01,667 on what this is, but this is an interesting image. 468 00:24:01,750 --> 00:24:05,083 Uh, it shows something obviously quite structured, 469 00:24:05,208 --> 00:24:07,708 and it is unmistakably triangular. 470 00:24:07,708 --> 00:24:11,500 There have been multiple accounts 471 00:24:11,583 --> 00:24:15,250 of strange things picked up on NASA videos and photos. 472 00:24:15,333 --> 00:24:18,667 They've got huge databases. 473 00:24:18,750 --> 00:24:20,542 And one of the things when NASA announced 474 00:24:20,625 --> 00:24:22,708 that they were going to do this study is, they said 475 00:24:22,833 --> 00:24:25,250 "We are going to be looking at data." 476 00:24:25,333 --> 00:24:26,542 And people were asking themselves, 477 00:24:26,625 --> 00:24:28,333 "Well, what data are they talking about?" 478 00:24:28,417 --> 00:24:29,833 Well, the data they already have 479 00:24:29,875 --> 00:24:31,875 and have been collecting for decades. 480 00:24:31,958 --> 00:24:35,083 NARRATOR: Now that NASA is officially 481 00:24:35,167 --> 00:24:36,875 investigating UFOs, 482 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:39,500 might we soon have definitive evidence 483 00:24:39,542 --> 00:24:41,958 that there is an alien presence on Earth? 484 00:24:42,042 --> 00:24:44,875 While the world's premier space agency 485 00:24:44,958 --> 00:24:47,750 may be better equipped than anyone to uncover 486 00:24:47,875 --> 00:24:51,333 the truth about unidentified aerial phenomena, 487 00:24:51,417 --> 00:24:54,875 some researchers believe our greatest weapon 488 00:24:54,958 --> 00:24:57,792 in the hunt for UFOs is the smartphone, 489 00:24:57,875 --> 00:25:01,375 carried by ordinary citizens all over the world, 490 00:25:01,458 --> 00:25:04,958 who are now capturing high-definition footage 491 00:25:05,042 --> 00:25:09,583 of events that defy all conventional explanations. 492 00:25:15,708 --> 00:25:17,500 NARRATOR: In primitive rock art throughout the world, 493 00:25:17,583 --> 00:25:21,375 there are depictions of what look like flying craft 494 00:25:21,542 --> 00:25:22,833 and strange beings. 495 00:25:22,917 --> 00:25:26,250 According to ancient astronaut theorists, 496 00:25:26,333 --> 00:25:29,708 these images represent the earliest documentation 497 00:25:29,792 --> 00:25:33,292 of extraterrestrial encounters, 498 00:25:33,375 --> 00:25:36,917 and they believe the best UFO hunters 499 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:39,667 have always been ordinary citizens 500 00:25:39,708 --> 00:25:43,500 recording what they see with their own eyes. 501 00:25:43,542 --> 00:25:45,500 In the ancient astronaut opinion, 502 00:25:45,625 --> 00:25:48,625 those stories of UFOs today 503 00:25:48,708 --> 00:25:50,208 are the same stories 504 00:25:50,292 --> 00:25:54,375 that our ancestors in the remote past also explored, 505 00:25:54,458 --> 00:25:56,583 and their cell phone cameras 506 00:25:56,708 --> 00:25:58,500 were the walls of caves, 507 00:25:58,542 --> 00:26:00,708 and reliefs and carvings 508 00:26:00,792 --> 00:26:03,208 in which they commemorated 509 00:26:03,292 --> 00:26:06,667 those incredibly significant events 510 00:26:06,750 --> 00:26:09,417 that they were eyewitnesses to. 511 00:26:10,625 --> 00:26:14,833 KNAPP: These things have been here interacting with us forever. 512 00:26:14,917 --> 00:26:17,167 On every continent, in every culture, 513 00:26:17,292 --> 00:26:18,417 throughout human history. 514 00:26:18,500 --> 00:26:20,417 We call them by different names. 515 00:26:20,500 --> 00:26:22,083 They appear in different guises. 516 00:26:22,167 --> 00:26:24,667 We used to say they were flying shields, 517 00:26:24,708 --> 00:26:26,333 flying chariots. 518 00:26:26,417 --> 00:26:30,167 Then they became flying saucers, uh, ghost rockets. 519 00:26:30,250 --> 00:26:32,583 UAP, UFO, 520 00:26:32,667 --> 00:26:34,667 whatever term you want to use, 521 00:26:34,833 --> 00:26:37,083 it's all the same phenomena. 522 00:26:39,625 --> 00:26:43,417 NARRATOR: In 1870, photographer Howard Kimball 523 00:26:43,500 --> 00:26:45,875 took the very first UFO photo, 524 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:48,958 which captured a cylindrical object 525 00:26:49,042 --> 00:26:52,000 above Mount Washington in New Hampshire. 526 00:26:52,083 --> 00:26:55,875 Since that time, thousands of photos of UFOs 527 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,083 have been taken all over the world 528 00:26:58,208 --> 00:27:01,875 many of which are grainy or blurry. 529 00:27:01,958 --> 00:27:04,708 But now, thanks to incredible advancements 530 00:27:04,833 --> 00:27:06,333 in camera technology, 531 00:27:06,375 --> 00:27:08,542 anyone with a smartphone 532 00:27:08,542 --> 00:27:10,667 can capture high-definition photos 533 00:27:10,708 --> 00:27:14,708 and videos of anomalous events in the sky. 534 00:27:14,792 --> 00:27:16,667 KNAPP: Technology has changed so much 535 00:27:16,750 --> 00:27:18,208 over the past 30, 40 years 536 00:27:18,333 --> 00:27:21,333 that now it's possible for regular Joe citizens 537 00:27:21,417 --> 00:27:22,958 to be part of this investigation. 538 00:27:24,083 --> 00:27:26,833 We all have computer power greater than the computers 539 00:27:26,917 --> 00:27:29,042 that sent humans to the Moon 50 years ago. 540 00:27:29,125 --> 00:27:32,958 POPE: Couple this with the fact that people know 541 00:27:33,042 --> 00:27:36,333 UFOs are now being taken seriously by the government, 542 00:27:36,417 --> 00:27:37,833 and what we have 543 00:27:37,917 --> 00:27:41,333 is an army that has been mobilized. 544 00:27:41,375 --> 00:27:43,333 An army of UFO hunters 545 00:27:43,417 --> 00:27:46,958 armed with cutting-edge technology. 546 00:27:47,042 --> 00:27:48,125 The hunt is on. 547 00:27:49,292 --> 00:27:52,500 NARRATOR: A key player in the modern-day hunt for UFOs 548 00:27:52,542 --> 00:27:55,500 is documentary filmmaker Jeremy Corbell. 549 00:27:55,625 --> 00:27:58,292 Corbell has been successful 550 00:27:58,375 --> 00:28:01,833 with acquiring U.S. military videos of UAPs 551 00:28:01,875 --> 00:28:05,000 and gaining permission to share them with the public. 552 00:28:06,042 --> 00:28:07,667 He is also helping to disseminate 553 00:28:07,792 --> 00:28:10,458 compelling footage shot by civilians 554 00:28:10,542 --> 00:28:12,917 using the power of social media. 555 00:28:13,042 --> 00:28:15,833 I've been trying to modernize my approach 556 00:28:15,917 --> 00:28:17,792 in that I use social media 557 00:28:17,875 --> 00:28:20,292 as a way to instantaneously get information out 558 00:28:20,375 --> 00:28:22,750 and obfuscate all the channels of suppression 559 00:28:22,833 --> 00:28:24,042 for this type of information. 560 00:28:24,167 --> 00:28:26,917 So from Instagram to Twitter to TikTok, 561 00:28:27,042 --> 00:28:30,792 you name it, all of these are social weapons 562 00:28:30,875 --> 00:28:33,333 for us to get information into each other's hands. 563 00:28:33,417 --> 00:28:37,667 The modern hunt for UFOs is now becoming proactive 564 00:28:37,792 --> 00:28:39,042 rather than just reactive. 565 00:28:39,125 --> 00:28:41,333 DANIEL ZETTERSTROM: Social media 566 00:28:41,417 --> 00:28:42,833 has been of great importance 567 00:28:42,958 --> 00:28:45,083 to the modern-day hunt for-for UAP. 568 00:28:45,208 --> 00:28:48,167 Not only does it allow us to connect directly with witnesses 569 00:28:48,250 --> 00:28:50,708 and with journalists who write articles, 570 00:28:50,792 --> 00:28:53,000 and get them a bit more educated on the issue, 571 00:28:53,083 --> 00:28:55,667 engaging with various figures on social media 572 00:28:55,750 --> 00:28:58,167 means that we're asked to adhere 573 00:28:58,292 --> 00:29:00,250 to a standard of evidence that we weren't before. 574 00:29:01,375 --> 00:29:04,375 NARRATOR: Images captured by smartphone technology 575 00:29:04,458 --> 00:29:06,917 and the dissemination of them on the Internet 576 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:09,542 have led to literally millions of people 577 00:29:09,542 --> 00:29:13,792 all around the world becoming involved in the hunt for UFOs. 578 00:29:15,208 --> 00:29:17,625 While smartphones have made it possible 579 00:29:17,708 --> 00:29:20,542 for anyone to record high-definition footage 580 00:29:20,625 --> 00:29:22,875 of strange events in the sky, 581 00:29:22,958 --> 00:29:25,250 serious UFO hunters are employing 582 00:29:25,333 --> 00:29:27,750 multiple technologies to separate 583 00:29:27,833 --> 00:29:30,000 the extraordinary from the mundane. 584 00:29:31,042 --> 00:29:32,500 You have to really sort through 585 00:29:32,625 --> 00:29:33,875 a lot of things and make sure 586 00:29:33,958 --> 00:29:36,333 that what you're seeing is truly a UFO. 587 00:29:36,458 --> 00:29:39,417 There could be some anomalies due to lighting. 588 00:29:39,500 --> 00:29:40,583 There could be birds. 589 00:29:40,667 --> 00:29:42,167 There could be other experiments 590 00:29:42,208 --> 00:29:43,750 or different types of technologies 591 00:29:43,833 --> 00:29:45,000 going on in that area. 592 00:29:45,083 --> 00:29:47,583 Sometimes, you have to have 593 00:29:47,708 --> 00:29:48,417 advanced technology to figure that out. 594 00:29:49,750 --> 00:29:51,667 I took a trip to Mount Adams 595 00:29:51,708 --> 00:29:54,833 about four years ago on a retreat, 596 00:29:54,917 --> 00:29:57,875 and the first night, I was able to see 13 UFOs 597 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,625 that were moving around, changing course and direction, 598 00:30:01,708 --> 00:30:03,667 getting brighter and also getting dimmer. 599 00:30:03,792 --> 00:30:06,000 And some of them actually even descended down 600 00:30:06,042 --> 00:30:08,417 onto the mountain and then went back up with lights on. 601 00:30:09,708 --> 00:30:11,167 Now we had our satellite tracking on, 602 00:30:11,208 --> 00:30:13,750 our apps, we had our ISS tracker on 603 00:30:13,833 --> 00:30:15,083 to make sure we weren't seeing anything 604 00:30:15,208 --> 00:30:16,500 that was already up there. 605 00:30:16,542 --> 00:30:20,042 Clearly, they were something that is unidentified 606 00:30:20,167 --> 00:30:21,917 and we can't really figure out exactly what it is, 607 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:23,833 but it definitely was an amazing phenomenon. 608 00:30:25,208 --> 00:30:28,417 NARRATOR: In addition to devices that can detect airplanes, 609 00:30:28,542 --> 00:30:31,833 satellites, and other known objects in the sky, 610 00:30:31,875 --> 00:30:34,250 there is another powerful technology 611 00:30:34,333 --> 00:30:37,042 now available to anyone with a computer 612 00:30:37,125 --> 00:30:39,333 or smartphone called MADAR, 613 00:30:39,417 --> 00:30:41,208 which stands for 614 00:30:41,292 --> 00:30:45,417 Multiple Anomaly Detection and Automatic Recording. 615 00:30:45,500 --> 00:30:47,667 DOLAN: In terms of having tools, there's something 616 00:30:47,750 --> 00:30:49,208 in the United States called MADAR, 617 00:30:49,292 --> 00:30:50,333 and this is about 618 00:30:50,500 --> 00:30:53,000 70 to 100 different nodes around the country. 619 00:30:53,125 --> 00:30:55,292 You can put this and attach it to your computer 620 00:30:55,375 --> 00:30:57,667 where there's detection instrumentation 621 00:30:57,708 --> 00:30:59,125 that will detect changes 622 00:30:59,208 --> 00:31:01,542 in electromagnetic qualities in your area, 623 00:31:01,667 --> 00:31:03,333 and other factors, 624 00:31:03,417 --> 00:31:05,667 to detect various types of anomalies 625 00:31:05,792 --> 00:31:08,500 that could be, uh, UAP. 626 00:31:09,833 --> 00:31:12,000 NARRATOR: Could this new technological era 627 00:31:12,125 --> 00:31:14,917 of the hunt for UFO evidence 628 00:31:15,042 --> 00:31:18,292 finally lead to the answers that humankind has been seeking 629 00:31:18,375 --> 00:31:20,375 for thousands of years? 630 00:31:21,708 --> 00:31:24,125 Ancient astronaut theorists say yes, 631 00:31:24,208 --> 00:31:26,417 and suggest that perhaps 632 00:31:26,500 --> 00:31:29,667 the most effective of all UFO hunters 633 00:31:29,792 --> 00:31:33,000 is a non-human intelligence. 634 00:31:37,542 --> 00:31:39,042 NARRATOR: In the 21st century, 635 00:31:39,125 --> 00:31:43,000 UFO hunters are armed with technology 636 00:31:43,083 --> 00:31:45,000 that allows them to record anomalies in the sky 637 00:31:45,042 --> 00:31:47,125 with incredible clarity. 638 00:31:47,208 --> 00:31:51,792 And today's technology can also glean new information 639 00:31:51,875 --> 00:31:55,542 from photographs taken decades ago. 640 00:31:57,250 --> 00:32:00,000 The northern highlands of Costa Rica. 641 00:32:00,125 --> 00:32:04,000 September 4, 1971. 642 00:32:04,083 --> 00:32:08,333 Photographer Sergio Loaiza is conducting an aerial survey 643 00:32:08,417 --> 00:32:11,667 of Lake Cote for the National Geographic Institute 644 00:32:11,792 --> 00:32:14,792 using a special map-making camera 645 00:32:14,875 --> 00:32:18,375 that snaps photos at 13-second intervals. 646 00:32:18,458 --> 00:32:21,333 WILLIAM HENRY: He's up in an airplane about 10,000 feet. 647 00:32:21,375 --> 00:32:24,167 He's taking photos of a hydroelectric project, 648 00:32:24,292 --> 00:32:25,792 and they're trying to calculate 649 00:32:25,875 --> 00:32:27,958 the environmental impact of this. 650 00:32:28,042 --> 00:32:32,000 So, he's just taking these ordinary photos, 651 00:32:32,042 --> 00:32:33,792 gets back to the lab, 652 00:32:33,792 --> 00:32:35,542 takes a look at the contact sheets 653 00:32:35,667 --> 00:32:38,625 and says, "What's that up in the righthand corner there?" 654 00:32:38,708 --> 00:32:42,042 It's this mysterious, circular, 655 00:32:42,167 --> 00:32:45,208 shiny metallic craft. 656 00:32:45,292 --> 00:32:48,833 NARRATOR: Curiously, the object does not appear 657 00:32:48,917 --> 00:32:50,667 in either the previous frame of film 658 00:32:50,750 --> 00:32:52,458 or the one after. 659 00:32:53,500 --> 00:32:56,542 HENRY: Instantly, the National Geographic Institute says, 660 00:32:56,667 --> 00:32:57,917 "You can't talk about this, 661 00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:00,167 and we're gonna put a lid on this." 662 00:33:00,208 --> 00:33:02,042 And they do for some time. 663 00:33:03,333 --> 00:33:06,083 NARRATOR: According to Loaiza, he and his colleagues 664 00:33:06,167 --> 00:33:08,875 were forbidden from divulging any information 665 00:33:08,958 --> 00:33:11,333 about the object captured in the photograph, 666 00:33:11,417 --> 00:33:16,000 which was estimated to be 160 feet in diameter. 667 00:33:16,125 --> 00:33:19,792 But in 1979, the photograph was leaked 668 00:33:19,875 --> 00:33:21,833 to the Argentine newspaper La Nación 669 00:33:21,917 --> 00:33:25,625 and analyzed by UFO researchers. 670 00:33:27,417 --> 00:33:28,833 HENRY: The photo 671 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:30,833 is studied later by Jacques Vallée 672 00:33:30,875 --> 00:33:32,542 and other UFO investigators, 673 00:33:32,625 --> 00:33:35,958 and they realize this is a tremendous photograph. 674 00:33:37,500 --> 00:33:39,875 ZETTERSTROM: This photo has been official declared 675 00:33:39,958 --> 00:33:42,708 by Costa Rica as an official UFO photo. 676 00:33:42,792 --> 00:33:45,333 They don't know what it is after years and years of study. 677 00:33:46,375 --> 00:33:49,125 NARRATOR: Many skeptics suggested that the object 678 00:33:49,208 --> 00:33:52,292 was likely some kind of debris or smudge 679 00:33:52,375 --> 00:33:55,792 that got on the film during the development process. 680 00:33:55,792 --> 00:33:59,833 But in 2021, Esteban Carranza, 681 00:33:59,917 --> 00:34:02,167 a friend of the Loaiza family, 682 00:34:02,250 --> 00:34:05,333 was able obtain the original contact sheets 683 00:34:05,375 --> 00:34:08,042 and have them scanned using the latest 684 00:34:08,167 --> 00:34:10,542 and most sophisticated technology. 685 00:34:11,625 --> 00:34:14,500 He gains access to the original contact sheets 686 00:34:14,583 --> 00:34:17,833 and sends them off to a photographic lab, 687 00:34:17,917 --> 00:34:20,750 and they do a reproduction of the image 688 00:34:20,833 --> 00:34:23,417 using the most advanced technology 689 00:34:23,542 --> 00:34:25,458 to bring it forward, and they come up 690 00:34:25,542 --> 00:34:29,458 with this 1.8 gigabyte image of this craft. 691 00:34:29,542 --> 00:34:31,625 NARRATOR: The debris and smudges 692 00:34:31,708 --> 00:34:34,167 that were visible in the original photograph 693 00:34:34,250 --> 00:34:37,333 are no longer present in the new higher resolution image, 694 00:34:37,417 --> 00:34:41,000 but the saucer-shaped object remains 695 00:34:41,042 --> 00:34:43,542 and is clearer than ever. 696 00:34:43,542 --> 00:34:46,333 This higher definition scan showed some new details. 697 00:34:46,417 --> 00:34:49,208 These new details help take a number 698 00:34:49,292 --> 00:34:52,042 of prosaic explanations off the table. 699 00:34:52,167 --> 00:34:54,208 For example, it was said 700 00:34:54,292 --> 00:34:56,625 that it could have been a chip in the glass. 701 00:34:56,708 --> 00:34:59,208 However, you can see that that's not the case. 702 00:35:00,208 --> 00:35:02,500 This photo, in and of itself, 703 00:35:02,542 --> 00:35:05,083 in its original state, was tremendous. 704 00:35:05,167 --> 00:35:08,833 But now, with this incredible leap in technology, 705 00:35:08,875 --> 00:35:12,708 we're able to bring it to life in an even greater way, 706 00:35:12,792 --> 00:35:14,958 and it's just another example 707 00:35:15,042 --> 00:35:16,833 of this great leap that we're making now 708 00:35:16,917 --> 00:35:19,333 in our understanding of these UAPs. 709 00:35:19,417 --> 00:35:22,667 NARRATOR: Another way in which UFO hunters 710 00:35:22,750 --> 00:35:25,833 are utilizing evidence from the past is through 711 00:35:25,875 --> 00:35:29,750 the advancements of artificial intelligence, or AI. 712 00:35:29,833 --> 00:35:32,667 In 2023, 713 00:35:32,708 --> 00:35:35,250 New York-based Enigma Labs 714 00:35:35,375 --> 00:35:38,500 launched a project to crowdsource and quantify data 715 00:35:38,583 --> 00:35:42,208 about UAPs with the help of artificial intelligence, 716 00:35:42,208 --> 00:35:45,167 and also compare it with data going back 717 00:35:45,250 --> 00:35:48,208 all the way to the 1940s. 718 00:35:48,208 --> 00:35:51,208 Alejandro Rojas acts as the company's head 719 00:35:51,292 --> 00:35:53,417 of research and content. 720 00:35:53,500 --> 00:35:57,500 I help with providing background information 721 00:35:57,583 --> 00:36:01,125 on UAPs and the history of UAP research. 722 00:36:02,083 --> 00:36:04,167 And then also to make sure 723 00:36:04,208 --> 00:36:06,250 that when we are 724 00:36:06,375 --> 00:36:08,583 sharing information that it's very comprehensive. 725 00:36:08,667 --> 00:36:11,375 So the articles, for instance, we write 726 00:36:11,500 --> 00:36:14,083 on historical cases are going to have more information 727 00:36:14,167 --> 00:36:16,042 than I think you'll find anywhere else. 728 00:36:16,167 --> 00:36:18,292 NARRATOR: Enigma Labs hopes 729 00:36:18,375 --> 00:36:20,292 that by creating a database of both 730 00:36:20,375 --> 00:36:22,208 old and new evidence, 731 00:36:22,208 --> 00:36:24,417 patterns will emerge that could 732 00:36:24,500 --> 00:36:26,750 finally provide real answers to explain 733 00:36:26,833 --> 00:36:29,167 the strange events that have been witnessed 734 00:36:29,208 --> 00:36:32,250 in our skies for thousands of years. 735 00:36:32,333 --> 00:36:35,667 ROJAS: We're gathering a lot of data to hopefully 736 00:36:35,750 --> 00:36:37,667 have a bigger database than anyone's had 737 00:36:37,750 --> 00:36:40,417 out there about cases throughout the world. 738 00:36:41,208 --> 00:36:44,167 And then applying AI to go through those cases 739 00:36:44,208 --> 00:36:46,417 to scrub them to find those good cases. 740 00:36:47,625 --> 00:36:49,875 NARRATOR: With this unprecedented effort 741 00:36:49,958 --> 00:36:52,167 across all disciplines-- 742 00:36:52,250 --> 00:36:55,792 from academics, government, and technology-- 743 00:36:55,875 --> 00:36:58,125 is humanity on the cusp 744 00:36:58,208 --> 00:37:00,500 of discovering compelling evidence that there is, 745 00:37:00,625 --> 00:37:04,458 in fact, an extraterrestrial presence on Earth? 746 00:37:04,542 --> 00:37:08,125 Ancient astronaut theorists say yes. 747 00:37:08,208 --> 00:37:10,625 Whoa, we got something! We got something! 748 00:37:10,708 --> 00:37:12,542 NARRATOR: And point to the discoveries being made 749 00:37:12,667 --> 00:37:16,042 at the site of the most intense UFO hunt 750 00:37:16,042 --> 00:37:18,958 ever conducted, Skinwalker Ranch. 751 00:37:19,042 --> 00:37:20,583 -Do you see this? -Yeah. 752 00:37:28,708 --> 00:37:31,333 NARRATOR: Here, on the 500-acre property 753 00:37:31,375 --> 00:37:33,833 known as Skinwalker Ranch... 754 00:37:33,875 --> 00:37:36,333 Everybody keep your eyes peeled to the skies. 755 00:37:36,375 --> 00:37:39,000 ...a team of investigators is conducting 756 00:37:39,042 --> 00:37:40,792 the most sophisticated 757 00:37:40,875 --> 00:37:42,417 and comprehensive UFO hunt 758 00:37:42,542 --> 00:37:46,083 currently underway anywhere on the planet. 759 00:37:46,167 --> 00:37:49,500 Erik, we got something moving right overhead of us right now. 760 00:37:49,542 --> 00:37:51,542 -That's not a plane. -I'm not seeing it. 761 00:37:51,667 --> 00:37:54,333 TAYLOR: It just sped up. It just vanished. 762 00:37:55,375 --> 00:37:57,250 Skinwalker Ranch is one 763 00:37:57,333 --> 00:37:59,833 of the most anomalous areas on this planet. 764 00:37:59,875 --> 00:38:02,708 Here's what people have seen in that ranch: 765 00:38:02,792 --> 00:38:07,125 strange creatures suddenly appearing out of nowhere... 766 00:38:07,208 --> 00:38:11,208 UFOs, instruments don't work. 767 00:38:11,292 --> 00:38:13,167 When it comes to Skinwalker, 768 00:38:13,250 --> 00:38:15,333 you've actually had some scientific research 769 00:38:15,375 --> 00:38:17,333 and a lot of scientists 770 00:38:17,417 --> 00:38:18,917 having their own encounters. 771 00:38:19,042 --> 00:38:21,667 NARRATOR: Since 2016, 772 00:38:21,750 --> 00:38:24,000 investigators have been using 773 00:38:24,083 --> 00:38:26,000 state-of-the-art camera equipment, 774 00:38:26,125 --> 00:38:28,750 ground-penetrating radar, 775 00:38:28,833 --> 00:38:31,833 radiation detectors, and a host of other 776 00:38:31,875 --> 00:38:34,875 highly sophisticated equipment in an effort 777 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:36,542 to meticulously study 778 00:38:36,625 --> 00:38:39,292 and document anomalous activity at the site. 779 00:38:40,917 --> 00:38:43,208 BRANDON FUGAL: We've made incredible progress 780 00:38:43,292 --> 00:38:46,417 in documenting the reality of the phenomena. 781 00:38:46,500 --> 00:38:48,125 We are just getting started 782 00:38:48,208 --> 00:38:49,583 in scratching the surface 783 00:38:49,708 --> 00:38:51,500 of what we are really dealing with. 784 00:38:51,583 --> 00:38:52,792 That's significant. 785 00:38:52,875 --> 00:38:55,167 NARRATOR: In 2019, 786 00:38:55,208 --> 00:38:57,417 Dr. Travis Taylor was asked 787 00:38:57,500 --> 00:38:59,667 to join the team at Skinwalker Ranch, 788 00:38:59,750 --> 00:39:01,792 just before he was brought on 789 00:39:01,917 --> 00:39:04,250 to the government's UAP Task Force. 790 00:39:04,333 --> 00:39:07,292 I was really excited when Brandon Fugal 791 00:39:07,375 --> 00:39:09,250 and his principal investigator, 792 00:39:09,333 --> 00:39:11,208 Erik Bard invited me 793 00:39:11,292 --> 00:39:13,167 to come out to Skinwalker Ranch 794 00:39:13,292 --> 00:39:14,667 and join the investigation team. 795 00:39:14,750 --> 00:39:16,500 -Hey, look! UAP right there! -Yep. 796 00:39:16,542 --> 00:39:18,833 TAYLOR: Since I've been out there 797 00:39:18,875 --> 00:39:21,667 at Skinwalker Ranch, I've seen so many different things... 798 00:39:21,750 --> 00:39:24,375 -Y'all see that? -...that before 799 00:39:24,458 --> 00:39:26,667 I would've not really believed they existed. 800 00:39:26,750 --> 00:39:29,542 NARRATOR: For UFO researchers, 801 00:39:29,625 --> 00:39:32,042 the investigations at Skinwalker Ranch 802 00:39:32,167 --> 00:39:34,333 represent a promising new era... 803 00:39:34,375 --> 00:39:37,083 -What are you seeing? -TAYLOR: A signal. 804 00:39:37,167 --> 00:39:39,417 NARRATOR: ...one in which a former investigator 805 00:39:39,542 --> 00:39:43,375 for the federal government and civilian researchers 806 00:39:43,458 --> 00:39:46,208 can work together in the search for answers. 807 00:39:46,333 --> 00:39:47,583 What is that? 808 00:39:47,667 --> 00:39:50,292 TAYLOR: For me to be doing the task force work 809 00:39:50,375 --> 00:39:52,667 and the Skinwalker Ranch work, 810 00:39:52,750 --> 00:39:54,792 I think we're in a new era 811 00:39:54,875 --> 00:39:58,125 of understanding the UAP-UFO phenomena. 812 00:39:59,250 --> 00:40:00,708 It did come out of the mesa. 813 00:40:00,792 --> 00:40:02,750 MAN (over radio): It came out of the mesa? 814 00:40:02,833 --> 00:40:04,917 It came right out of the mesa. 815 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:08,500 Finally, there's Congressional oversight 816 00:40:08,625 --> 00:40:11,208 on UFO investigation programs. 817 00:40:11,333 --> 00:40:13,625 And maybe one day we'll find, 818 00:40:13,708 --> 00:40:15,500 if they are extraterrestrial intelligence, 819 00:40:15,542 --> 00:40:17,625 the public will get to know that. 820 00:40:18,792 --> 00:40:21,167 NARRATOR: For the first time in human history, 821 00:40:21,208 --> 00:40:24,958 the search for evidence of extraterrestrials visiting Earth 822 00:40:25,042 --> 00:40:28,833 is the subject of a collaborative worldwide effort 823 00:40:28,917 --> 00:40:32,958 across the scientific and intelligence communities. 824 00:40:33,042 --> 00:40:36,458 20, 30 years ago it would've been a dream 825 00:40:36,542 --> 00:40:39,583 if I would've opened the paper and I read 826 00:40:39,708 --> 00:40:43,292 NASA is now studying UAPs, 827 00:40:43,375 --> 00:40:45,833 and Harvard created the Galileo Project, 828 00:40:45,917 --> 00:40:49,042 and other universities are following suit 829 00:40:49,125 --> 00:40:53,458 by seriously investigating the extraterrestrial question. 830 00:40:53,542 --> 00:40:56,458 And so today here we are, it is happening, 831 00:40:56,542 --> 00:41:00,167 and so I am over the moon that this is happening. 832 00:41:00,250 --> 00:41:01,833 PILOT: Look at that thing! 833 00:41:01,875 --> 00:41:03,292 KNAPP: It's exciting as hell. 834 00:41:03,375 --> 00:41:05,125 I never thought I would live to see 835 00:41:05,208 --> 00:41:06,458 this kind of a change. 836 00:41:06,542 --> 00:41:08,333 Where it is acceptable 837 00:41:08,417 --> 00:41:10,125 for mainstream media to dig into it. 838 00:41:10,208 --> 00:41:12,458 Where it's acceptable for Congress to authorize a program, 839 00:41:12,542 --> 00:41:14,333 to hold hearings 840 00:41:14,458 --> 00:41:16,167 to dig into it and demand information. 841 00:41:16,208 --> 00:41:18,875 You know, in the end we have a lot more information. 842 00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:19,917 We have a lot of cases. 843 00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:22,500 We really don't have any solid answers. 844 00:41:22,542 --> 00:41:25,500 I hope that in my lifetime we'll have some. 845 00:41:25,625 --> 00:41:29,500 NARRATOR: Could humankind finally be on the brink 846 00:41:29,583 --> 00:41:32,333 of making an incredible discovery? 847 00:41:32,417 --> 00:41:36,875 Will irrefutable evidence of extraterrestrial visitation 848 00:41:36,958 --> 00:41:40,333 come from a new breed of UFO hunters? 849 00:41:40,458 --> 00:41:42,792 Like Harvard astronomers, 850 00:41:42,875 --> 00:41:44,708 NASA scientists, 851 00:41:44,792 --> 00:41:46,542 government researchers, 852 00:41:46,625 --> 00:41:49,417 or even ordinary citizens? 853 00:41:49,500 --> 00:41:51,333 Right there! 854 00:41:51,417 --> 00:41:54,208 NARRATOR: Perhaps now that people from all walks of life 855 00:41:54,292 --> 00:41:56,958 are investigating what's happening in our skies, 856 00:41:57,042 --> 00:42:00,583 we will uncover an alien presence 857 00:42:00,708 --> 00:42:03,917 that has been with us all along. 858 00:42:03,917 --> 00:42:07,875 CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY A+E NETWORKS