NASA physical evidence policy (1978)
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 8
| Date | 17 January 1978 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Government programs (topic) |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 83 |
| Year | 1978 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1978 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 5 |
After President Jimmy Carter's administration asked NASA in 1977 whether the government should reopen UFO investigations, NASA declined to start a research program, but said it would examine any genuine physical evidence brought to it. In early 1978 it issued an information sheet on UFOs for answering public inquiries.[1][2]
The White House request
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On 21 June 1977 Carter's science adviser, Frank Press, wrote to NASA administrator Robert Frosch that the White House was becoming a focal point for a growing number of UFO inquiries, and asked NASA to assess whether a new investigation should be launched. Frosch replied that a review panel would need additional resources.[1]
NASA's decision
In December 1977, after what he called considerable thought, Frosch wrote that NASA would take no steps to establish a research activity on UFOs or to convene a symposium. He cited the absence of tangible or physical evidence for thorough laboratory analysis, without which no sound scientific approach could be devised. He added that NASA would still examine any bona fide physical evidence from credible sources. An internal NASA exchange, described by astrophysicist Richard Henry, judged a formal study "fraught with perils", including hoaxes and damage to NASA's image.[1]
The information sheet
In early 1978 NASA produced an information sheet setting out how it would respond to the many UFO questions reaching the White House; it noted that Carter's own 1969 sighting had been listed by NICAP as unidentified. A copy was later released through the Defense Department.[1][2][3]
The "physical evidence" memo
The testimony describes a NASA memo dated 17 January 1978 referring to a program for analysing physical UAP evidence, sometimes called "UFOHEAP". We found no published NASA document using that name, and NASA's public position was that it had no UFO program.[3]
Later
NASA did not take up the subject officially until 2022, when it set up an independent study team on UAP, whose report was published in September 2023.[4]
People and topics
- NASA — The U.S. civilian space agency, created in 1958.
- Unidentified anomalous phenomena — The U.S. government's current term for unidentified objects in the air, in space and underwater.
- Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
On the Timeline
- McDonnell Douglas close-encounter database (1978) (5 January 1978) — A McDonnell Douglas engineer tells Vallée of a well-funded secret UAP project.
- Fort Dix–McGuire incident (18 January 1978) — An alleged Air Force form describes a UAP incident and body recovery at Fort Dix and McGuire AFB.
See every 1978 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- David Clarke, "Fraught with perils": NASA and the Carter-era UFO question · drclarke.substack.com · archived copy
- "NASA information sheet on UFOs (1978)", The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- NASA UFO documents released by the Defense Department (PDF) · esd.whs.mil · archived copy
- "NASA's UAP independent study team", NASA · science.nasa.gov · archived copy
- documents.theblackvault.com · documents.theblackvault.com · archived copy
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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