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TYB

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

May 17, 2024

Aurora Banks Peninsula

This well-composed composite panoramic view looks due south from Banks Peninsula near Christchurch on New Zealand's South Island. The base of a tower-like rocky sea stack is awash in the foreground, with stars of the Southern Cross at the top of the frame and planet Earth's south celestial pole near center. Still, captured on May 11, vibrant aurora australis dominate the starry southern sea and skyscape. The shimmering southern lights were part of extensive auroral displays that entertained skywatchers in northern and southern hemispheres around planet Earth, caused by intense geomagnetic storms. The extreme spaceweather was triggered by the impact of coronal mass ejections launched from powerful solar active region AR 3664.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?

Aviary: A New NASA Software Platform for Aircraft Modelling

MAY 17, 2024

NASA has created a new digital modelling tool for aeronautical engineers to innovate new aircraft designs, building on decades of experience using highly advanced computer code for aviation.

Using this tool, researchers can create simulations of conceptual aircraft featuring never-flown technology and receive detailed data about how it would work.

Named “Aviary” for enclosures where birds are kept and studied, the tool creates virtual models of airplanes based on information provided by the user. In this analogy, Aviary is the enclosure, and the birds are the virtual airplane models.

Researchers can input information about an aircraft’s shape, range, and other characteristics. Then, Aviary creates a corresponding digital model of that airplane.

Aviary is a significant leap in progress. Unlike past aviation modelling tools, Aviary can link with other codes and programs to expand and customize its capabilities.

“We wanted to make it easy to extend the code and tie it in with other tools,” said Jennifer Gratz, who leads Aviary’s integration and development. “Aviary is intentionally designed to be able to integrate disciplines together more tightly.”

Aviary is free and accessible to all. The code continues to grow as contributions are made by the public. The code is hosted on GitHub, along with its key documentation.

Building Aviary from a Legacy

Aviary is a descendant of two prior modelling tools created by NASA decades ago: the Flight Optimization System, and the General Aviation Synthesis Program.

These older legacy codes, however, were comparatively limited in terms of flexibility and detail.

“The older legacy codes were not designed to handle these more modern-day concepts such as hybrid-electric aircraft,” Gratz said. “They viewed certain systems as more separated than they really are in the vehicles we envision now.”

Aviary bridges that gap, enabling researchers to seamlessly incorporate detailed information reflecting the more integrated, enmeshed systems needed to model newer aircraft.

The team began creating Aviary by taking the best parts of the legacy codes and merging them, then adding in new code to make Aviary extendable and compatible with other tools.

“That’s one of its most important characteristics,” Gratz said. “Aviary is flexible enough that you can decide what you want to learn more about, then configure it to teach you.”

Expanded Capabilities

Learning specific, tailored information ahead of time can inform researchers what direction the aircraft design should take before doing costly flight tests.

Instead of having to use built-in estimates for certain parameters such as a battery’s power level, as would be done with past tools, Aviary users can easily use information generated by other tools with specific information catered to batteries.

Another capability Aviary touts is gradients. A gradient, essentially, is how much a certain value affects another value when changed.

Say a researcher is considering how powerful a battery should be to successfully power an aircraft. Using older systems, the researcher would have to run a separate simulation for each battery power level.

But Aviary can accomplish this task in one simulation by considering gradients.

“You could tell Aviary to figure out how powerful a battery should be to make using it worthwhile. It will run a simulated flight mission and come back with the result,” Gratz said. “Older tools can’t do that without modification.”

Aviary can simulate all these concepts simultaneously – no other modelling tool can easily consider prior legacy tools, separate tools introduced by users, and gradients.

“Other tools have some of these things, but none of them have all of these things,” Gratz said.

What’s more, Aviary comes with extensive documentation.

“Documentation is another important part of Aviary,” Gratz said. “If nobody can understand the tool, nobody can use it. By having a good record of Aviary’s development and changes, more people can benefit. You don’t have to be an expert to use it.”

https://www.nasa.gov/aeronautics/aviary-software-overview/

NASA Earns Best Place to Work in Government for 12 Straight Years

MAY 16, 2024

NASA was named Thursday as the 2023 Best Place to Work in the Federal Government – large agency – for the 12th year in a row by the Partnership for Public Service. The title serves as a reflection of employee satisfaction with the workplace and functioning of the overall agency as NASA explores the unknown and discovers new knowledge for the benefit of humanity.

“Once again, NASA has shown that with the world’s finest workforce, we can reach the stars,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Through space exploration, advances in aviation, groundbreaking science, new technologies, and more, the team of wizards at NASA do what is hard to achieve what is great. That’s the pioneer spirit that makes NASA the best place to work in the federal government. With this ingenuity and passion, we will continue to innovate for the benefit of all and inspire the world.”

The agency’s workforce explored new frontiers in 2023, including shattering an American record for longest astronaut spaceflight, announcing the Artemis II crew, launching the Deep Space Optical Communications experiment, partnering on a sustainable flight demonstration later designated as X-66, and celebrating a year of science gathered from the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope. Feats beyond our atmosphere persisted with NASA’s OSIRIS-Rex (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer) mission – the first U.S. mission to collect an asteroid sample. Insights from the asteroid data will further NASA’s studies on celestial objects, while the agency also continues its pursuit to return astronauts to the Moon as part of the Artemis campaign.

Along with being the 65th anniversary of the agency, 2023 brought new climate data with the launching of the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center and Earth Information Center, new perspectives on Earth’s surface water through NASA’s SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) mission, and accrued air quality data from NASA’s TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution) mission.

The Partnership for Public Service began to compile the Best Places to Work rankings in 2003 to analyze federal employee’s viewpoints of leadership, work-life balance, and other factors of their job. A formula is used to evaluate employee responses to a federal survey, dividing submissions into four groups: large, midsize, and small agencies, in addition to their subcomponents.

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-earns-best-place-to-work-in-government-for-12-straight-years/

NASA Astronauts to Get MIT 'SuperLimbs' Suit

Updated May 16, 2024 at 7:38 PM EDT

MIT engineers may have found a way to help clumsy astronauts get back on their feet using superhero technology.

The engineers, working alongside NASA, have developed a system called the Supernumerary Robotic Limbs or "SuperLimbs." These spider-like limbs extend from a backpack and lift a fallen astronaut back off the ground.

This could be crucial in future missions to the moon, where gravity is only a sixth of that on Earth and astronauts may struggle to clamber up again after a fall due to their unwieldy space suits.

"Astronauts are physically very capable, but they can struggle on the moon, where gravity is one-sixth that of Earth's but their inertia is still the same. Furthermore, wearing a spacesuit is a significant burden and can constrict their movements," Harry Asada, a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, said in a statement. "We want to provide a safe way for astronauts to get back on their feet if they fall."

Astronauts on the moon during the Apollo missions fell over fairly frequently, as seen in videos from the time, and had some trouble scrambling back to their feet due to the lack of gravity and their bulky suits. SuperLimbs are hoped to solve this problem in the future.

The system's motor, limbs, and controller are designed to be contained in a backpack that the astronauts would wear, which would also house their life support system.

The researchers made a prototype and tested it on subjects wearing similar clothing to a spacesuit. They found that when assisted by the limbs, they could get up from a sitting or lying down position easier than alone.

"It feels kind of like an extra force moving with you," MIT researcher Erik Ballesteros said. "Imagine wearing a backpack and someone grabs the top and sort of pulls you up. Over time, it becomes sort of natural."

Therefore, the SuperLimbs are hoped to help astronauts conserve crucial energy during extravehicular activities (EVAs) on the moon.

This is especially important for the upcoming Artemis missions to the moon, which will see astronauts walk on the lunar surface for the first time in half a century. These astronauts are hoping to build the first permanent base on the moon, which will be extremely physically demanding, so conserving energy will be of the utmost importance.

"During the Apollo era, when astronauts would fall, 80 percent of the time it was when they were doing excavation or some sort of job with a tool," Ballesteros said. "The Artemis missions will really focus on construction and excavation, so the risk of falling is much higher. We think that SuperLimbs can help them recover so they can be more productive, and extend their EVAs."

The MIT researchers have been working on SuperLimbs for over a decade, with this space-bound application being the latest in a series of uses, including aircraft and ship construction. Now, they're collaborating with NASA to adapt the technology for use on the moon.

"In communications with NASA, we learned that this issue of falling on the moon is a serious risk. We realized that we could make some modifications to our design to help astronauts recover from falls and carry on with their work," Asada said.

The team hopes to further streamline the design at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and test it in low-gravity situations with real astronaut spacesuits.

"Wearing a spacesuit can be a physical burden. Robotic systems can help ease that burden and help astronauts be more productive during their missions," Asada said.

https://www.newsweek.com/astronauts-superlimbs-suit-lunar-missions-1901573

Blue Origin will launch these 6 space tourists on May 19, its 1st crewed mission since 2022

May 16, 2024

Blue Origin is set to break its dry spell of crewed launches this weekend.

A crew of six will be aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket-capsule combo on the company's 25th overall launch and seventh space tourism mission, which will lift off from West Texas.

The passengers on this flight, known as NS-25, were announced last month; they include retired U.S. Air Force Capt. Ed Dwight, who was selected as the nation's first Black astronaut candidate way back in 1961.

Blue Origin, run by billionaire Jeff Bezos, did not initially indicate a date for the NS-25 mission, but announced earlier this week that the launch is targeted for this Sunday (May 19) at 9:30 a.m. EDT (1330 GMT; 8:30 a.m. local time in West Texas).

Blue Origin's last space tourism launch occurred in August 2022. That mission carried six passengers on a suborbital flight just like the one scheduled for this weekend and performed nominally, with both the New Shepard rocket and the crewed capsule landing safely.

However, the next New Shepard flight — an uncrewed research mission that launched in September 2022 — suffered an anomaly caused by a structural failure in the nozzle of the rocket's BE-3PM engine.

The capsule for that launch managed to parachute safely back to the ground, but the New Shepard rocket exploded, leading Blue Origin to ground the vehicle as the company performed an investigation.

More than a year later, New Shepard was cleared for flight again, and launched another uncrewed payload on the NS-24 mission in December 2023. This weekend, the six passengers of NS-25 will be the first crew to launch on New Shepard since its accident almost two years ago.

Ed Dwight

Ed Dwight is a retired U.S. Air Force Captain. In 1961, he was recommended for training at the Aerospace Research Pilot School (ARPS) by President John F. Kennedy, according to Blue Origin's NS-25 mission page. Ultimately, however, NASA did not accept Dwight into the Astronaut corps. He entered civilian life in 1966, retiring from the military to eventually become a sculptor dedicated to memorials and public arts celebrating Black history across the United States and Canada. Dwight's seat aboard NS-25 was sponsored by the Jaison and Jamie Robinson Foundation and Space for Humanity, a nonprofit geared toward making space more accessible for all of humanity.

Mason Angel

Mason Angel founded Industrious Ventures, a venture capital fund that supports companies playing a role in the "transformation of fundamental industries and processes," according to Industrious Ventures' website. His biography on Blue Origin's mission page states that Angel hopes his NS-25 mission will "inspire children and advance partnerships with nonprofits focused on STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] in early education." The dog in Angel's photo is named Leo, a nod to low-Earth orbit.

Sylvain Chiron

Sylvain Chiron may well be cheering his mission to space with a beer made by Brasserie du Mont Blanc, one of France's largest craft breweries. Chiron founded the brewery in 1999. The French entrepreneur's love of aerospace goes way back; he earned his pilot's license at 16 years old and spent summers in Florida honing those flight skills and watching space shuttle launches from the Space Coast. According to his Blue Origin bio, Chiron currently resides with his family in Savoy, France, where he focuses his efforts on children's education and nature preservation.

Ken Hess

Ken Hess rose to the entrepreneurial top with his Family Tree Maker software, which he sold to Ancestry.com in 2003. With his success, Hess was able to found the children's STEM education nonprofit Science Buddies to improve science literacy in grades K-12. According to Blue Origin's website, Science Buddies has reached 250 million users.

Carol Schaller

Carol Schaller lives on a farm in Lumberville, Pennsylvania, with her husband, and when she isn't tending to her 100 chickens, she is busy on her mission to see the world. Schaller was informed by her doctor in 2017 that she would eventually go blind, and since that diagnosis has traveled to 25 different countries and the South Pole. Now, she will get to look at space with her own two eyes. "Seeing Earth’s thin layer of atmosphere in the blackness of space will fulfill a lifelong dream," Blue Origin wrote on its NS-25 mission page.

Gopi Thotakura

Gopi Thotakura is co-founder of Preserve Life Corp, an Atlanta-based global center for holistic health and wellness. Thotakura graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and is a practiced pilot of several non-military aircraft, including gliders, seaplanes and hot air balloons. His Blue Origin biography also indicates that Thotakura has served as an international medical jet pilot.

https://www.space.com/blue-origin-ns-25-meet-the-crew

Wild Discovery Suggests a Warp Drive Is Possible Within Known Physics

17 May 2024

One of the most significant barriers keeping humanity from the stars is the speed limit of the Universe.

Even if we had the technology to rocket us through space on high-speed colony ships, how fast we can travel normally is limited to light speed in a vacuum.

Nothing in the Universe can move faster than 300,000 kilometers per second (186,000 miles per second) – and nothing with mass can reach that speed.

There are, however, theoretical workarounds and loopholes, which have to do with the fact that the very fabric of space-time itself can warp and bend.

There's the notion of wormholes, or Einstein-Rosen bridges: shortcuts created by folding space-time.

And then there's the warp drive, or Alcubierre drive, a hypothetical engine that can create warps in space-time that circumvent the speed limit.

It would work by squeezing space in the fore and expanding it aft, like toothpaste in a tube, thus shrinking the amount of space to be traveled and allowing some hypothetical craft to traverse the distance faster than if space-time had been left alone.

For obvious reasons, this is not something humanity has been able to achieve.

But an international group of scientists called Applied Physics has been theorizing about how it might work – and now they think they have a new solution, what they call the constant velocity warp drive.

"This study changes the conversation about warp drives," says physicist Jared Fuchs of Applied Physics, who did his PhD at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

"By demonstrating a first-of-its-kind model, we've shown that warp drives might not be relegated to science fiction."

When Mexican theoretical physicist Miguel Alcubierre proposed his warp drive in 1994, it had a significant drawback.

It required a bubble of negative energy density around an object to create the imbalance in space-time, powered by either exotic particles that we haven't yet discovered, or the mysterious dark energy that drives the expansion of the Universe.

This is not even remotely achievable, currently or maybe ever, but there's something else that can warp space-time – and that's gravity.

Previous work at Applied Physics described how developing a super-powerful gravitational field could squeeze space-time, whilst keeping the drive well within the bounds of known (if extremely difficult to pull off) physics.

The think tank's latest work focuses on a similar solution, theorizing a warp drive that can manipulate space-time to behave as though reacting gravitationally to normal matter.

It consists of a stable shell of matter with, as the researchers describe, a "modified shift vector on its interior".

The resulting warp 'bubble', pictured below, would send a spacecraft through space at speeds lower than that of light, but it could, the researchers say, work without needing exotic energy sources.

"In this paper, we have developed the first constant velocity subluminal physical warp drive solution to date that is fully consistent with the geodesic transport properties of the Alcubierre metric," Fuchs and colleagues write in their published paper.

"This exciting new result offers an important first step toward understanding what makes physical warp solutions."

It's still not practical, mind you. But it could be a step in the right direction. The team intends to explore their model further to see if they can refine it, and plans to investigate ways to increase the velocities it can reach.

"Although such a design would still require a considerable amount of energy, it demonstrates that warp effects can be achieved without exotic forms of matter," says physicist Christopher Helmerich of Applied Physics and graduate student of the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

"These findings pave the way for future reductions in warp drive energy requirements."

https://www.sciencealert.com/wild-discovery-suggests-a-warp-drive-is-possible-within-known-physics

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6382/ad26aa

Ariane 6 launches Replicator – 3D printing in open space

16/05/2024

Europe’s newest rocket soon launches, taking with it many space missions each with a unique objective, destination and team at home, cheering them on. Whether into Earth orbit to look back and study Earth, peer out to deep space or test important new technologies, Ariane 6’s first flight will showcase the versatility and flexibility of this impressive, heavy-lift launcher. Read on for all about the Replicator mission, then see who else is flying first.

The Replicator mission, from Warsaw, Poland, and Berlin, Germany, based startup Orbital Matter, will launch on Ariane 6 to demonstrate a new 3D printing technology in orbit, potentially opening the door to new space structures that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise, made using fewer resources.

The name ‘Replicator’ is a homage to the many forms of advanced manufacturing methods in science fiction, capable of making complex products, ready to use: Star Trek’s kitchen microwave-like Replicators could synthesise meals on demand; the Von Neumann Probe is a conceptualised spacecraft capable of exponentially self-replicating; and in the Stargate series, Replicators are a highly advanced machine race capable of reproducing themselves indefinitely.

Orbital Matter doesn’t plan to churn out burgers or machine-like people, their long-term goal is to become the first construction company in space – one day manufacturing large elements of space infrastructure directly in orbit, on the Moon and Mars, in-so-doing reducing costs and increasing access to space. Their new method of 3D printing has been developed to work directly in a vacuum and under microgravity, without requiring heat to be generated during manufacturing. As there is no atmosphere to cool down parts via convection cooling, like blowing on a spoonful of hot soup, it takes a long time – months – for parts to cool down just through irradiation (simply waiting for the soup to lose heat). Orbital Matter’s process prints without heat, making it much faster to build structures in a vacuum.

3D printing, or ‘additive manufacturing’, was first tested in space on the International Space Station in 2014 and has proven useful for the on-demand manufacturing of tools and spare parts. So far, no 3D printing technology has been shown to work in the significantly harsher exposed conditions outside of the Space Station, in ‘open’ space, limiting its use.

Manufacturing directly in space means large structures could in principle be built with fewer materials, as they don’t need to withstand the rigours of launch. This could mean large space-based solar power plants, communication antennas, larger telescopes for science missions and even larger space stations could all be built in orbit. Such structures could provide real benefits, from making electricity cheaper, greener and more accessible for remote areas to reducing the cost of communication and increasing access to it, furthering our general knowledge of the Universe and making space tourism cheaper and more accessible.

Orbital Matter has already demonstrated that their 3D printing technology works in a vacuum on Earth, but with the Ariane 6 first launch, they will perform their first in-space demonstration: their three-unit CubeSat (10x10x30 cm) will print a 50 cm-long beam while at an altitude of 580 km, out of a custom polymer material.

“Thanks to the ESA PUSH opportunity, we're demonstrating our 3D printer in orbit a remarkable 12 months ahead of schedule,” says Jakub Stojek, CEO of Orbital Matter. “This is a great example of how European technological independence can be built in space, by fostering rapid prototyping for startups across Europe.”

Robert Ihnatisin, Chief Technology Officer at Orbital Matter adds: “Ariane 6 will act as a catalyst for the renewed launch capabilities of Europe, and our experiment during its inaugural flight could help Europe become a leading player in in-space manufacturing, as we demonstrate it is indeed possible to 3D print in exposed space”.

Orbital Matter has been assisted throughout the planning and development of their mission by Paris-based launch provider RIDE! space, who took part in ESA’s PUSH tender and were selected to organise a contest where the winner would receive end-to-end launch management and procurement of one or several deployers.

RIDE! provides a digital platform to handle end-to-end launch services, from scouting for launch opportunities to assessing performance, price and level of service. Besides the platform, the company offers support with instrument qualification, documentation, transportation, launch integration, promotion and much more.

cont.

https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Ariane/Ariane_6_launches_Replicator_3D_printing_in_open_space

https://www.newsnationnow.com/religion/vatican-guidance-supernatural/

Vatican unveils new guidance on supernatural phenomena

MAY 17, 2024 / 07:56 AM CDT

The Vatican offered new guidance Friday regarding supernatural phenomena and other apparitions, presenting new provisions of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The Vatican radically reformed its process for evaluating alleged visions of the Virgin Mary, weeping statues and other seemingly supernatural phenomena, putting the brakes on making definitive declarations unless the event is obviously fabricated.

The Vatican’s doctrine office overhauled norms first issued in 1978, arguing they were no longer useful or viable in the Internet age.

Nowadays, word about apparitions or weeping Madonnas travels quickly and can actually harm the faithful if hoaxers are trying to make money off people’s beliefs or manipulate them, the Vatican said.

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Monsignor Armando Matteo and Sr. Daniela Del Gaudio spoke at the news conference Friday morning.

As described in the Encyclopedia of the Bible, an “apparition” refers to the appearance of a spiritual or supernatural visitor, most likely with instances involving a divine entity such as the Virgin Mary or a saint.

Previously, Fernández said the dicastery is “in the process of finalizing a new text with clear guidelines and norms for the discernment of apparitions and other phenomena,” per Fox News.

The last time the Vatican revised its doctrine for evaluating “apparitions” and other supernatural events was in 1978, per the Catholic News Service.

The new norms make clear that such an abuse of people’s faith can be punishable canonically, saying, “The use of purported supernatural experiences or recognized mystical elements as a means of or a pretext for exerting control over people or carrying out abuses is to be considered of particular moral gravity.”

The new norms reframe the Catholic Church’s evaluation process by essentially taking off the table whether church authorities will declare a particular vision, stigmata or other seemingly divinely inspired supernatural event.

Instead, the new criteria envisages six main outcomes, with the most favorable being that the church issues a noncommittal doctrinal green light, a so-called “nihil obstat.”

Such a declaration means there is nothing about the event that is contrary to the faith, and therefore Catholics can express devotion to it.

The Catholic Church has had a long and controversial history of the faithful claiming to have had visions of the Virgin Mary, of statues purportedly weeping tears of blood and stigmata erupting on hands and feet mimicking the wounds of Christ.

Historically, the church has been opaque about how apparitions and other supernatural events were handled, so much so that the guidance issued in 1978 was done secretly and not made public for many years after the fact.

Typically, investigations of supernatural events have been left to local bishops, in no small part because the Vatican doesn’t have enough resources to investigate every possible event.

Based on previous guidance, local authorities were urged to be cautious and diligent but also resolve cases quickly.

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A methodical approach is more difficult in the age of social media, especially when the Vatican has historically taken decades to determine if apparitions are legitimate.

In the case of Medjugorje, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, six people claimed to have visions of Mary beginning in 1981.

However, the case wasn’t investigated until 2010, and by that time, it had already been the subject of online groups, books and movies.

One reason Catholic authorities are urged to proceed with caution is the risk of damaging the faith, especially if reports later turn out to be false.

False apparitions may be the result of misunderstandings or psychological problems, but deliberate forgeries and fakes are also a problem for the church as the financial incentive to appeal to believers can be strong.

Sites such as Medjugorje draw millions of visitors.

On a more direct level, some have tried to monetize relics directly, such as a man in Maine who tried to sell a piece of toast with the image of Jesus on it on eBay.

He failed, but a woman in Florida did successfully sell a 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich, which she claimed bore the image of the Virgin Mary, for $28,000. (Neither were recognized by the Catholic Church as legitimate.)

But not all supernatural events the church examines are as benign, and one of the most famous, the rite of exorcism, can also be deadly, adding more reason for the church to take a cautious approach.

A staple of horror movies, exorcism guidelines have been revised by the church repeatedly. Famously, some exorcisms have resulted in deaths, including the 1976 death of Annelise Michel, a German woman who died from dehydration and malnutrition after 10 months of exorcism.

As of now, the Vatican hasn’t provided a reason for updating the guidance on apparitions and other supernatural events.

One obvious reason could be the changing times; the 1978 guidelines were issued in response to the rise of mass media and easier global travel.

The internet and social media have radically reshaped communications since then, including how quickly news of apparitions, relics and supernatural events can circulate, regardless of authenticity.

In an earlier interview, Fernández suggested there needed to be guidance on handling cases of psychological and sexual abuse related to false mysticism due to the serious nature of that abuse.

Some have also suggested a less earthly reason, saying interest in UFOs may be part of the push, as a new film, “God vs. Aliens,” is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

While the new guidelines are not directly expected to talk about UFOs, there are many in the UFO community — including GOP Tennesee Rep. Tim Burchett, theologians and ancient astronaut theorists — who believe one possible explanation is aliens and angels are one and the same.

In his exclusive NewsNation interview last summer, David Grusch also claimed the Vatican was in on a 90-year UFO cover-up.

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Congressman moves to declassify UFO docs: 'If you got nothing to hide, release the files'

May 16, 2024 4:14pm EDT

The U.S. government would have 270 days to release all UFO-related documents to the public if a new congressional bill is passed.

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who has been a leading voice for UFO transparency, will introduce a new bill Thursday that would require President Biden to direct the heads of each federal department or agency to declassify all documents related to UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomena), also known as UFOs.

"It's simple. They spend all this time telling us they don't exist, then release the files, dagnabbit," Burchet told Fox News Digital in an interview, before introducing the "The UAP Transparency Act" on Thursday.

"I don't want some crazy, fancy name for it," he said. "I just want them to do exactly what the bill is about."

Rep. Burchett has been at the forefront of the fight for UFO transparency, along with several other Republicans in the House and Senate, but there has been a bipartisan effort.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., and Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., are co-sponsors of the bill.

In a previous interview, Burchett said he believes there has been a cover-up, and that tens of millions of dollars are being spent "on something that you say doesn't exist, (and) yet you continue spending the money on it. It makes you wonder."

The 1.5-page bill would not only force the president to direct federal agencies to declassify UFO-related files, but it would require the president to file quarterly reports that would update the House and Senate subcommittees on the progress toward releasing the information.

"That's all it is," Burchett said. "It's about transparency."

Burchett and other lawmakers have been frustrated by the bureaucrats' diversion tactics and stonewalling, while millions of dollars seemingly vanish into a black hole.

"Like I said before, it's not about little green men or flying saucers," he told Fox News Digital in an April interview, "it's about tens of millions of dollars that our federal government is spending on something that at least some of the members of the federal government say does not exist.

Yet, they will not release all the files."

To the Republican lawmakers' point, as recently as February 2021, an Intelligence Community Control Access program "was expanded to protect UAP reverse-engineering … without sufficient justification," the Pentagon's February report on UFOs said.

"This program never recovered or reverse-engineered any UAP or extraterrestrial spacecraft. This IC (intelligence community) program was disestablished due to its lack of merit," according to the report.

Last month, there were about a dozen people (including Burchett) in a SCIF, a sensitive compartmented information facility, about UFOs, which is a highly classified briefing, and he left feeling "discouraged, as all this other stuff is."

He didn't see why the information discussed in the SCIF couldn't have been discussed in a public setting.

"I really think the whole thing is so compartmentalized that we'll never get to the bottom of it until you have a commander-in-chief who says enough is enough," he said.

Instead of waiting for the executive branch, this short but pointed bill would essentially merge all the compartmentalized federal agency files and dump them into one declassified pool of information.

"We just got to put this stuff out. Let's clear the air. And let's move on," Burchett said.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/congressman-moves-declassify-ufo-docs-you-got-nothing-hide-release-files

https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/8424?s=1&r=1