The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Thursday released a new report on what it calls the "unidentified anomalous phenomenon" (UAP), better known to the public as unidentified flying objects, or UFOs. In response to a recommendation by an independent study team for NASA to play a more prominent role in understanding UFOs, the US space agency announced that it is appointing a director of UAP research.
During the press conference, NASA officials were also asked questions about the UFO hearing in Mexico's Congress that featured the presentation of alleged remains of non-human beings. David Spergel, the former head of Princeton University's astrophysics department and chair of the UAP report, said he did not know the nature of the samples but urged transparency.
"This is something that I have only seen on Twitter. When you have unusual things, you want to make the data public," Mr Spergel said.
"We don't know the nature of those samples," he said.
"If you have something strange, make samples available to the scientific community," he told the Mexican government.
'Alien Bodies' Presented In Mexican Congress
Mexican journalist and long-time UFO enthusiast Jaime Maussan showed politicians at the hearing on Tuesday two tiny "bodies" displayed in cases, with three fingers on each hand and elongated heads.
He said in the presentation that the specimens were recovered near Peru's ancient Nazca Lines and had been carbon-dated by Mexico's National Autonomous University (UNAM) and concluded to be about 1,000 years old.
Maussan claimed they were not related to any species on Earth.
"I think there is a clear demonstration that we are dealing with non-human specimens that are not related to any other species in our world and that all possibilities are open for any scientific institution... to investigate it," Maussan said.
"We are not alone," he added.
The images from the congressional hearing -- featuring purported "alien" bodies -- have now gone viral on social media platforms.
