Harvard University astrophysicist Avi Loeb praised President Donald Trump on Newsmax on Friday after he directed the government to begin identifying and releasing files related to extraterrestrial life and unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), which Loeb said could open long-hidden data to scientific scrutiny.
"I will be directing the Secretary of War and other relevant departments and agencies to begin the process of identifying and releasing government files related to alien and extraterrestrial terrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena, and unidentified flying objects," Trump said in a statement last week.
The directive follows renewed public debate after former President Barack Obama said on a recent podcast that aliens "are real," before later clarifying in a written statement, "the chances we've been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that ETs have made contact with us."
When asked on "National Report" about Obama's remarks and Trump's directive, Loeb noted that new technology used by governments all over the world could shed light on UAP activity if it's shared with scientific organizations.
"I mean, now we have sensors that can give us high quality data, especially the U.S. government, that monitors Earth using satellites and other probes," Loeb said.
"One can, for example, go back 50 years," he added. "One can also focus on objects that are definitely outside the performance envelope of human-made technologies."
Loeb, founder of the Galileo Project, said classified capabilities and national security concerns likely explain why some information has not been made public.
"Of course, intelligence agencies, the Pentagon would prefer not to reveal all the details because of the risk to national security," he said. "And there is another reason that if they cannot figure out some things, they would prefer not to expose the vulnerability of our defense system. And I salute President Trump for the directive to release some of the data."
Loeb said the political back and forth signals the government may have unresolved cases it has not shared with outside experts.
"It implies that there is definitely data or even materials of things that [the] government cannot figure out," he said.
Loeb said information about possible objects from beyond Earth should be shared broadly because it would matter to everyone.
"And my point is that anything to do with what lies outside the solar system, you know, should be shared with scientists, because it's information that all of us want to know," Loeb said.
Loeb said he would welcome a formal role helping the government evaluate unusual reports and potential physical evidence.
"I'll be delighted to work with government in figuring out what this means," Loeb said.
Loeb also pointed to his Galileo Project as a model for transparent, systematic data collection that aims to move the search for possible technological signatures into mainstream scientific study.
"So this is a privately funded project," Loeb said. "We [have] by now built three observatories monitoring the entire sky at all times in the infrared, optical, radio and audio. The latest installation was in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the other two observatories are in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania."
Loeb said the project's ability to calculate distances is crucial for determining whether any object performs beyond known human technology.
"As of last week, we were able to figure out distances," Loeb said. "That's extremely important because then it allows us to see if there is any object among the millions that is performing outside the envelope of human-made technologies."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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