Mark McInerney to Lead Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Research for NASA

NASA has named Mark McInerney as its director of unidentified anomalous phenomena research.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson explained that McInerney will lead the execution of the agency’s vision for UAP research, including collaborating on analysis activities with other agencies and using artificial intelligence to scan for such phenomena.

Nelson emphasized that the work will be conducted transparently to benefit humanity.

According to a press release, McInerney will also be responsible for centralizing communications and resources to create a UAP evaluation database.

McInerney was formerly a liaison overseeing NASA’s UAP activities for the Department of Defense. Previously, he held several roles at Goddard Space Flight Center and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA said.

McInerney’s appointment follows an independent study team’s recommendation for the agency to be more involved in the government’s UAP effort.

According to the team’s report, NASA is well-positioned to support UAP studies within the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office‘s framework.

The study was commissioned by NASA to understand how data and tools can be used to advance research on such phenomena.