How would religion react if we discovered extra-terrestrial life?

With astronomers getting closer to discovering extraterrestrial life, David A Weintraub considers the impact it would have on the world’s major religions.

The impact of finding life on another planet would be felt across every facet of society, including religion.

If there is life elsewhere in the Universe, the possibility that we’ll discover it within the lifetimes of our children is high.

In the past few decades, scientists have built a powerful foundation upon which the search for extraterrestrial life can take place.

Credit: Mark Garlick / Science Photo Library

While we won’t be able to exchange messages with extraterrestrials anytime soon, by the end of this century we are likely to know if we’re alone or have biological company in our Galaxy.

Humanity can make no discovery more profound than that.

The existence or non-existence of extraterrestrial life won’t prove any one theological system right or wrong.

But being able to prove that life exists will have an enormous impact on how each follower of a religion understands their own particular faith.

Perhaps more importantly, knowing that there is intelligent life out there may change the way we treat people of other faiths on this planet.

The last big theory to challenge religion was Big Bang cosmology.

Credit: BSIP SA / Alamy Stock Photo

Would an alien understand religion?

Let’s start by assuming a single deity controls the entire Universe.

If this is the case, are the rules for living according to the principles ordained by God identical on every planet?

What of life that begins somewhere and it transported somewhere else, like through panspermia?

Or, to put it another way, would my religion make any sense to an alien?

Most Christians are likely to think that the God they worship is the God of the whole Universe.

The obvious corollary to this assumption is that Christianity can be exported; that extraterrestrials can and perhaps should be converted to Christianity, just as European explorers, centuries ago, sought to convert non-European native peoples to Christianity.

Does baptising extraterrestrials make theological sense?

Could be baptise an alien?

Credit: Kseniya Ovchinnikova / Getty Images

It does to Guy Consolmagno, an American research astronomer and the director of the Vatican Observatory, who has written: “It is not just humankind, but the whole of creation that was transformed and elevated by the existence of Christ.”

Once we have accepted, through astronomical observations, that life exists beyond Earth, then Consolmagno’s “whole of creation” would include the creatures living on worlds millions of lightyears from our home planet.

This is where things get interesting.

Unless you deny the possibility of evolution, the discovery of any kind of life – even bacterial life – on another planet implies that sentient beings either exist or may come into existence in distant parts of the Universe.

If all beings in the Universe are “elevated by the existence of Christ”, we might ask how those otherworldly beings will learn about the birth and resurrection of Jesus that occurred on planet Earth, approximately 2,000 years ago.

Will we send messages to them at the speed of light? Will we transport copies of the gospel in high-speed rockets?

If we’re limited by the laws of physics, we’ll be unable to transmit news of the birth and redemption of Christ to the rest of the Universe in a reasonable amount of time.

How would news of the birth of Jesus have reached Christians living on other worlds?

Credit: iStock

Twentieth-century Roman Catholic philosopher and Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin – whose writings, since 1962, have been considered full of “serious errors as to offend Catholic doctrine” – wrote boldly and radically that “The idea of an Earth chosen arbitrarily from countless others as the focus of Redemption is one that I cannot accept.”

The more mainstream Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner echoed this sentiment, saying, “A theologian can hardly say more about this issue than to indicate that Christian revelation has as its goal the salvation of the human race.”

Christianity, in other words, is a religion only for humans on Earth. Were we to discover that extraterrestrials exist, we would have no reason to teach them about Christianity, because Christianity would, theologically speaking, make no sense to them.

But Christianity isn’t the only religion we have on Earth. What about Islam?

The pillars of the Islamic faith require that the faithful face Mecca at times of prayer and undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca in the course of their lifetime.

If aliens live millions of lightyears from Earth and can’t determine the direction of Mecca, let alone travel to it, does that preclude them from being Muslim?

According to the Qur’an, “His are all things in the heavens and on the Earth…His throne doth extend over the heavens and the Earth.”

Therefore, explains Islamic philosopher Seyyed Hossein Nasr, “All beings in the Universe… are Muslim, i.e., ‘surrendered to the Divine Will.’”

But how can one be Muslim if one cannot practise the Islamic faith?

If and when we discover that extraterrestrials exist, the Islamic faithful on Earth might have to acknowledge that intelligent beings on other worlds would have their own prophets, prophets that would reveal to those beings ‘pillars of the faith’ appropriate for their particular worlds.

Could aliens practise the Islamic faith without being able to determine the direction of Mecca, or make the pilgrimage required?

Credit: iStock

Religion and geocentrism

Much like Islam and Christianity, the practice of Judaism is strongly Earth-centric.

Could a being on another planet be Jewish if it cannot claim Jerusalem as an ancestral home or has no reason to celebrate the festivals of Purim and Passover?

Orthodox Jews believe one must pray three times a day to faithfully practise Judaism.

Is that possible on a planet with a day that lasts only 90 minutes? All of these issues emerge because Judaism is a religion built upon the daily life and culture on planet Earth.

Whether Judaism is limited by its human-centric aspects, however, is a matter for scholarly debate.

The great medieval scholar Moses Maimonides never considered mankind of great importance in God’s larger Universe, but Rabbi Norman Lamm, head of the rabbinic school at Yeshiva University from 1976 until 2013, suggests that mankind can be important to God without being the only created species in the Universe.

“We affirm our faith that God is great enough to be concerned with all his creatures, no matter how varied and how far-flung throughout the remotest galaxies of His majestic Universe… Man may not be the purpose of the Universe, yet he may have a purpose in the Universe.”

Similarly, Judaism may be intended only for humans on Earth, but that doesn’t diminish the importance of the practice of Judaism.

An ancestral connection to Jerusalem is a key part of the Jewish faith.

Credit: Ilan Rosen / Alamy Stock Photo

Hinduism

Unlike the three major western Abrahamic religions, Hinduism is not Earth-centric. Hindus could practise anywhere in the Universe, and all beings throughout the Universe could practise Hinduism.

For some Hindus, the Earth may be considered a vital aspect of its cosmological system, but Earth need not be the only sacred location in the Universe.

The connection of humans to life elsewhere in the Universe emerges most directly through the belief in samsara, the endless cycle of birth and rebirth within and between different levels of living beings.

For Hindus, when death occurs, the soul of a living being transitions from one material body to begin a new life in another one.

That reincarnation event can transfer one’s life force from a body on Earth into the body of another living being anywhere in the Universe – the laws of physics don’t control or limit the speed or distance that a soul might transmigrate.

Buddhism, on the other hand, is a way of life devoted to finding a spiritual path for escaping the suffering of endless reincarnation.

Those who follow the path of the Buddha seek to achieve nirvana and end their personal suffering.

Within the Buddhist worldview, the Universe is incomprehensibly vast and ancient, and is densely populated by sentient beings.

In this immense Universe humans, like all forms of life, are simultaneously insignificant and all-important.

In the past, astronomy has undergone significant paradigm shifts that have had major impacts on religion.

Most notably, the Copernican revolution undermined the Aristotelian foundation of medieval Christianity.

Big Bang cosmology, offered up by astronomers in the 20th century, has encountered significant opposition from literal creationists.

Now, in the 21st century, astronomers are charging toward yet another paradigm shattering discovery.

Perhaps the most valuable lesson we can learn from our history is that we can’t run and hide from scientific progress.

If aliens are out there, we are going to find out very soon. The best thing we can do, whatever our faith, is to start considering the implications of that.

{ https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/ }

Can the world’s religions survive the existence of aliens?

Finding alien life could shake some people to their very souls, but different religions can take very distinct approaches to the existence of extraterrestrial life

By Adam Kovac, edited by Claire Cameron

One of the greatest mysteries of life is whether we are alone in the cosmos. The laws of probability suggest we aren’t, but despite centuries of searching, we have never seen any clear evidence of life beyond our planet. Still, the world’s religious leaders are already formulating how they would respond to extraterrestrial life—and some have more interesting approaches than others.

These discussions took center stage at a Capitol Hill gathering called the Disclosure Forum that took place earlier this year on a sunny day in June. A gaggle of lawmakers, retired military personnel, academics and businesspeople crowded into the Russell Senate Office Building’s Kennedy Caucus Room with me. As I listened, they spitballed ideas on how to handle what they believe are the increasingly likely chances of first contact with alien life.

Several speakers at the event stressed that a revelation that Earth has been visited by intelligent extraterrestrials would raise immediate questions about planetary defense. Others theorized hopefully that there could be enormous economic opportunities.

There would also be enormous societal impacts: Carlos Eire, a historian and religious studies professor at Yale University, told event attendees that finding out humanity isn’t alone in the universe could shake us to our very souls—religious leaders would need to contain the fallout, he said.

Eire serves on the advisory board for the Disclosure Foundation, a nonprofit that organized the event and is dedicated to transparency around unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and aliens.

“If disclosure reveals that there are nonhuman intelligences,” Eire told me later in an interview, “it remains to be seen who these intelligences really are and what they do, or what they’re hoping to accomplish, with human beings.”

“There won’t be a single reaction,” he adds. “For some people, it will confirm all sorts of things. For some people, it will demolish certain beliefs.”

Reactions could be split along religious lines—and some belief systems may be better equipped to deal with aliens than others, experts say.

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For example, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and other religions that originate in the Global East “have always conceived of the universe as vast, as going through many cycles of existence,” says Jeffery Long, a religious studies professor at Elizabethtown College.

Hinduism, Long tells me, has many deities, some of whom are described in religious texts as traveling through the cosmos on “vimanas”—flying chariots that could, to some, be read as akin to spaceships.

“If you start reading ancient Hindu literature and about different deities and then other species of intelligent beings, it’s very sci-fi,” Long says.

Meanwhile, the Abrahamic religions—the largest of which are Christianity, Judaism and Islam—are largely accepting of the idea that conscious life might exist that isn’t human, but none of these religions are monoliths.

The sheer scope of Christian belief systems makes attitudes to aliens among believers difficult to pin down, Eire says. Some theologians are optimistic: in his 2023 book Astrobiology and Christian Doctrine: Exploring the Implications of Life in the Universe, which received some NASA grant funding, Andrew Davison, now a divinity professor at the University of Oxford, wrote that he believes Christianity would be more “robust” in accepting alien life than some might think.

Certainly, leaders in the Roman Catholic Church have hinted at being open to extraterrestrials—the late Pope Francis once said he’d happily baptize an alien if they asked—Eire points out that within certain forms of Christianity, such as Protestantism, there can be incredible diversity in beliefs.

“There are Bible-thumping antievolutionists in parts of the U.S. that call themselves Evangelicals, and there are Evangelicals that are damn close to Catholics,” Eire says. “Predicting what Protestants will do is just impossible. The spectrum is so wide and contains so many different kinds of Christianity.”

The Abrahamic religion that may be the most open-minded about aliens, Long says, is also the oldest. Jewish scripture, while making no mention of spaceships, does include repeated mention of angels with a higher consciousness than that of humans. Even the most devout followers would perhaps be accepting of aliens because the religion’s dogma is “more about ethics and living your life here and now than it’s about ‘if you do this, you’ll go to heaven,’” Long says.

Academic explorations of how religious belief might influence attitudes to potential alien life are spotty at best, but that dearth of research could change. Aliens have become less taboo for scientists beyond astrobiology; the possibility of extraterrestrial life is no longer a punch line.

At the June Disclosure Forum, I heard more about how the White House is approaching the issue by setting up an advisory group on UAP, led by Harvard professor Avi Loeb. Loeb said at the event that he hopes the UAP Science Advisory Council will go on to publish scientific findings in reputable journals. That may include research in the field of exotheology—the study of religion and theological ideas related to alien life, Eire says.

“The academic community is readier now than it was 10 years ago for various reasons,” he says. Eire points to the Pentagon’s recent publishing of several tranches of previously classified UAP-related documents and media as a reason for this increased openness.

As to whether a kind of spiritual malaise or panic might result from aliens revealing themselves, that’s unclear. According to one recent poll, a third of Americans believe at least some UAP sightings were actual spacecraft; another poll found about half the country believes aliens probably exist. But drilling down more formally into specific religions is more murky: A 2021 poll revealed that among U.S. Christians, people who said religion was very important to them were less likely to believe that intelligent life might exist on other planets, as were those who attended religious services at least weekly. Belief in alien life also varied by denomination.

Much could also hinge on what kind of alien life is out there. While most people imagine intelligent beings that are in the best case friendly and curious like E.T., or, in the worst case, here to annihilate humanity, like in Independence Day, that’s not what most exobiologists are searching for. Instead they are on the lookout for distant exoplanets that exhibit signs of life closer to Earth’s microbes than humans.

“If there was amoebalike life on other planets, that would be a significant thing,” says Shoaib Malik, a science and religion lecturer at the University of Edinburgh and co-editor of the book Islamic Theology and Extraterrestrial Life: New Frontiers in Science and Religion. But while microscopic life would “definitely show proof of concept,” Malik adds, it wouldn’t fundamentally shake people’s faith.

“I think the real challenge really is if there’s something equivalent or something more advanced than the human being, particularly if you associate human uniqueness with rationality and spirituality,” Malik says.

Other scholars aren’t so sure. David Weintraub, a retired astronomer and author of Religions and Extraterrestrial Life: How Will We Deal With It?, says the difference between a microbe and, say, a primate is only a matter of degree.

“I think it would only make a difference to someone who does not believe in evolution, and that’s where we start drilling into the religious aspect of this,” he says. “If you accept evolution as a natural part of the way the universe works, then if you find microbial life of any sort, a possibility exists that that microbial life could evolve into intelligent life someday.”

Although there are no direct comparisons of similar evolutionary situations arising in modern history, says Paul Gutjahr, a professor at Indiana University Bloomington and author of the book Faith in Space: American Religious Belief in Extraterrestrial Life, there are many examples in human history in which religion and new knowledge of the cosmos has collided. When evolution was an emerging theory, for example, it presented a major challenge to Christianity.

“What you find is that people within that tradition find ways to adapt,” Gutjahr says. “It’s not like everybody becomes a friend of evolution, but there are there are very smart, capable and vocal people that start to think about if evolution is just the way that God worked his magic.”

{ https://www.scientificamerican.com/ }

The Five-Image “Costello Leak” Hoax — April 2014

By April 11, 2014, a group of five images was being circulated by In5D in an article titled “UFO ET Dulce Base Revealed From A Scientist Now In Hiding.”

The page claimed that the photographs had been smuggled from the underground facility by “Thomas Costello,” described as a Dulce security officer who had subsequently disappeared with his family.

The material was reposted by the Chromographics Institute on April 12, 2014, which credited the In5D article as its source.

No documented chain of custody connects the images to the evidence Castello was alleged to have removed from Dulce in 1979.

The Underlying Source Image of the “Costello Leak”

On April 1, 2016, John Greenewald of The Black Vault investigated one of the photographs circulating under the claim that it had been leaked from Dulce by Thomas Costello.

Greenewald traced the image to the 2000 science-fiction film The 6th Day, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The positions of the suspended bodies in the alleged Dulce photograph correspond to the film scene.

Tal LeVesque’s Says it was a “Creation” — November 2015

During correspondence with researcher Adam Gorightly, LeVesque was questioned about the origins of the Thomas Castello material.

In November 2015, LeVesque stated that “TEC (Thomas Edwin Castello) is a creation” and said the alleged Castello interview had never taken place.

LeVesque described the interview as creative writing, saying that questions submitted for Castello had instead been answered by Cherry Hinkle as if she were Castello.

• William F. Hamilton III and Tal LeVesque, “The Deep Dark Secret at Dulce,” UFO Universe, February–March 1991. Read the reproduced article

• The Dulce Book, compiled material concerning the alleged Castello evidence packages and photographs. PDF

• John Lear, Project Camelot — John Lear Tells All, April 2008. Project Camelot interview

• AlienHub, “A terminally ill Thomas Edwin Castello speaks out,” October 2009. Original AlienHub thread

• Danila85, Baksan Neutrino Observatory photographs, February 4, 2008. Original LiveJournal gallery

• Chromographics Institute, “Regarding the Dulce, NM Base,” April 12, 2014. Original 2014 page

• John Greenewald, “‘Leaked’ Underground Dulce Base Alien Photo by Thomas Costello,” The Black Vault, April 1, 2016. The Black Vault investigation

• Adam Gorightly, Saucers, Spooks and Kooks: UFO Disinformation in the Age of Aquarius, 2021. Google Books entry

• Norio Hayakawa, “Thomas E. Castello never existed, admitted the late Tal Levesque, originator of the Dulce Base myths,” April 23, 2021. Norio Hayakawa article

{ https://alienarchivist.substack.com/ }

Retired lawyer Robert Martinez discusses an unusual UAP-related client

Overview

In a recent episode of Reality Check, investigative journalist Ross Coulthart interviewed Robert Martinez, a retired attorney from Tucson, Arizona, about claims made by a former client who allegedly had access to highly classified U.S. government programs involving Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). Martinez identified the client by the pseudonym “Dwayne Backer,” saying he represented him during an employment-discrimination case in the mid-1990s.

According to Martinez, Backer worked for decades at sensitive national-security facilities, including White Sands Missile Range and nearby Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. Backer reportedly claimed that his career began in 1947 and continued for nearly 50 years. The allegations, which have circulated widely among online UAP communities, remain unverified and have not been independently corroborated by documentary evidence presented in the interview.

Claims Concerning Roswell and Military Encounters

Martinez said Backer claimed to have seen photographs related to the 1947 Roswell incident, including images purportedly showing a crashed craft and non-human bodies. Backer allegedly maintained that the crash occurred several miles from the location identified in official accounts. The U.S. government has historically attributed the Roswell debris to a classified balloon project, while UAP advocates continue to dispute that explanation.

The former client also described what he characterized as a long-running “secret war” between U.S. military aircraft and unknown objects. Martinez said Backer believed numerous pilots and advanced jets had been lost during these encounters, with the incidents later classified as training accidents. In one reported episode, three aircraft sent to intercept a UAP allegedly received an unauthorized instruction to return to base. Ground controllers reportedly denied transmitting the order, an account Martinez presented as evidence of possible technological interference.

Abduction and Depopulation Allegations

Among the most controversial claims discussed was Backer’s assertion that some non-human entities were “good” while others were hostile. Martinez cited an alleged incident involving an Air Force pilot whose parachute was recovered with an empty harness, suggesting the pilot had disappeared during ejection. No independent records confirming that event were provided during the interview.

Backer also allegedly believed that certain entities considered Earth overpopulated and intended to reduce the human population. Martinez said his former client specifically mentioned pandemics as a possible method. The program offered no verified evidence linking any pandemic to non-human activity, and the claim remains speculative.

Alleged Suppression and Harassment

Martinez further described events he interpreted as efforts to intimidate him and suppress Backer’s testimony. He said a major Washington, D.C., law firm representing Backer’s employer sent him a letter highlighting the death penalty under the Espionage Act. Martinez also alleged that two unidentified men in dark suits entered his office while he was in court and stole a physical file containing notes about the case.

He recounted surviving a serious vehicle collision and described a separate incident involving his girlfriend, which he considered suspicious. Martinez connected these events with Backer’s death from a heart attack, reportedly occurring soon after Martinez met former Congressman Steve Schiff, a New Mexico lawmaker who had supported greater disclosure about Roswell. The interview also referenced Air Force safety investigator Alan Diehl and Harvard psychiatrist John Mack, although no direct evidence was presented tying their deaths or work to a coordinated suppression effort.

Martinez’s Position

Martinez told Coulthart that decades of reflection, combined with recent UAP disclosures, had strengthened his belief in Backer’s account. He said he would be willing to testify before Congress in a secure setting and identify corporations and individuals allegedly involved in the programs. The interview documents serious allegations, but it does not establish them as fact. Confirmation would require corroborating witnesses, official records, forensic evidence, or congressional investigation.

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 { https://usubjects.com/  }

USOs: The underwater mysteries that have baffled for centuries

From Columbus’s mystery light to the Tic Tac incident, here’s the history of USOs, the underwater UFOs Bradley Walsh investigates in Out of This World.

Article written by:Craig Lenagha

Is the truth really ‘out there’? Quite possibly, but where exactly? You might be tempted to look to the skies. However, this could be the wrong place to look for those aliens. They’re probably not turning up in flying saucers, or even flying at all…

Rather, those little green men could be lurking deep under the sea. An odd choice of place for them to hang out? Not really, if you think about it. Though the ocean covers more than 70% of Earth’s surface, we humans have mapped less than a third of the global seafloor as of 2026.

This all leaves plenty of potential hiding places underwater for aliens eager to keep a sneaky eye on us. In the new Sky HISTORY series Out of This World, TV favourite Bradley Walsh investigates the phenomenon of USOs (unidentified submerged objects). What do the most famous USO cases tell us about what could really lie beneath the waves?

What is a USO?

As you likely already know, the acronym UFO is commonly used to refer to an unexplained aerial phenomenon. The similar acronym USO stands for ‘unidentified submerged objects’. A USO is an unexplained phenomenon detected either in the sea or emerging from it. This makes a USO essentially an aquatic version of a UFO.

Read more about Mysteries

The Phoenix Lights: A baffling mass UFO sighting

Just like a UFO, a USO does not necessarily have to be extraterrestrial in origin. Indeed, many initially mysterious USOs may turn out to be familiar entities like fish, sharks and whales. It’s also possible that relatively uncharted stretches of the ocean are harbouring earthly sea creatures currently unknown to science.

This has not stopped ufologists from speculating that extraterrestrial visitors may also be in our waters. There’s even the frightening prospect of aliens setting up permanent underwater bases. In 2014, one roughly three-mile-wide formation on the seabed floor near California’s Malibu coast attracted suspicion due to its artificial, shelf-like appearance. Nonetheless, geological experts have insisted that this allegedly alien-built ‘anomaly’ could still easily be nature’s doing.

The surprisingly long history of USOs

If you’ve seen a USO, you can report it on the mobile app Enigma, which has logged over 11,000 such sightings off the US coast since 2022. Have USO incidences become more common in recent years? It’s easy to get that impression from the news, but it might just be that we’re becoming more adept at picking up on the phenomena.

Evidently, USO stories have been breaking cover for centuries, long before humans were strapping on scuba-diving gear to explore shipwrecks. While at sea in 1492, Christopher Columbus wrote in his journal about witnessing a peculiar light hovering above the surface of the sea. The explorer likened the sight to ‘a small wax candle rising and falling’.

Read more about Mysteries

Famous UFO Sightings

The Japanese may even have had a close encounter with a seaborne alien in 1803. That’s when a spacecraft-like vessel bearing a feminine mermaid-like creature allegedly washed up on Japan’s eastern coast.

In 1825, Andrew Bloxam was on a sea voyage when he reportedly saw a large, luminous orb appearing to rise from the water. According to the English naturalist, the USO was so fiercely bright it resembled a ‘red-hot’ cannon shot.

The best-known USO cases

Since 2004, the US military has periodically spotted bizarre, lozenge-shaped USOs darting above (and into) seas just off the US mainland. The most famous such sighting is the 2004 ‘Tic Tac’ incident captured on infrared video and radar, which did not attract mainstream attention until 2017.

There’s also the curious case of the ‘Baltic Sea anomaly’, a spaceship-like structure found on the Baltic seabed in 2011. Though sceptics have dismissed it as simply an odd-looking rock, its unusually precise shape has drawn humorous comparisons to the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars.

In one Out of This World episode, Bradley Walsh learns about the ‘ghost rockets’ seen in the skies of Scandinavian countries in 1946. These USOs resembled cigars and were seen falling into lakes. However, no debris from these USOs was ever definitively found at the bottom of these lakes, despite extensive searches that did uncover apparent impact pits.

Crucially, the ‘ghost rockets’ were seen shortly after the end of World War II. The Soviet Union, one of the victorious Allied powers, had only recently recovered German-made weapons. This sparked speculation that at least some of the ‘ghost rockets’ were actually V-1-type missiles being tested by the Soviets.

• Want more eerie stories from the past? Sign up to the Sky HISTORY newsletter to dive into history’s strangest sightings. Every week, you’ll receive the latest articles, episodes and more delivered straight to your inbox.

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{ https://www.history.co.uk/ }

Alien Disclosure: Pentagon Contractor Modelled Military-Documented UFO, UAP & USO Physics

The 141-page document, produced by Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) in November 2010, details the company’s analytical capabilities for studying UAPs and unidentified submerged objects (USOs) under DIA contract HHM402-08-C-0072.

The contract ran from 2008 to 2010 and tasked BAASS with building what the report described as “the largest known UAP performance and behavior Data Warehouse in the world,” alongside computational modelling tools capable of simulating the physics of reported encounters.

The report is part of the seventh release under the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE). It’s designated DOW-UAP-D175.

Decades of military UFO research

A collection of reported UFO types from DOW-UAP-D175.

The report traced the US military’s interest in unidentified aerial objects back to the 1940s, beginning with Project Sign in 1947, which was established by the US Air Force to investigate flying disc reports.

Project Sign gave way to Project Grudge and then to Project Blue Book, the longest-running of the military’s UFO programs, which operated from 1952 to 1970. Blue Book investigated 12,618 UFO sightings during its tenure, according to the BAASS report.

Of those sightings, 701 remained classified as “unidentified” at the program’s conclusion. The Condon Committee, a University of Colorado study commissioned by the Air Force, recommended in 1968 that the government discontinue formal UFO research, concluding that it had produced nothing of scientific value.

The DIA contract with BAASS represented a resumption of that research, decades later, with a focus on computational physics rather than field investigation alone.

Twelve technology focus areas

BAASS organised its research around twelve technology focus areas drawn from reported UAP characteristics: lift, propulsion, control, power generation, spatial-temporal translation, materials, configuration and structure, signature reduction, human interface, human effects, armament and “other.”

The report acknowledged that many UAP sightings could be attributed to conventional military aircraft. It specifically cited the SR-71 Blackbird, F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter, B-2 Spirit bomber and X-45A unmanned combat air vehicle as platforms that had been misidentified as UAPs during their respective development and operational periods.

However, the report argued that a subset of incidents involved performance characteristics that could not be explained by known technology. It was this subset that BAASS focused its computational analysis on.

The 2004 Tic Tac encounter

The centrepiece of the BAASS report’s analytical work was a detailed examination of the November 2004 encounter between US Navy F/A-18 fighter jets and an unidentified object off the coast of Mexico, involving the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group.

The incident began on 10 November 2004, when the USS Princeton, an Aegis-class guided missile cruiser, detected anomalous aerial contacts on its SPY-1B radar system. The contacts appeared intermittently over several days, with objects descending rapidly from altitudes above 60,000 feet to as low as 50 feet before disappearing from radar.

On 14 November 2004, two F/A-18F Super Hornets were vectored to intercept one of the contacts. The lead pilot reported a visual sighting of a white, oblong object hovering over a patch of disturbed water.

The object was described as “solid white, smooth, with no edges” and approximately 46 feet long, roughly the size of the F/A-18 itself. Its shape was compared to a Tic Tac breath mint.

As the lead pilot descended to investigate, the object appeared to ascend towards the aircraft before accelerating away at high speed. A second pair of F/A-18s equipped with forward-looking infrared (FLIR) pods subsequently tracked the object, capturing video footage that would later become one of the most widely discussed pieces of UAP evidence in the public domain.

The BAASS report included a DIA assessment of the incident that characterised the object’s performance in stark terms.

The Anomalous Aerial Vehicle (AAV) was no known aircraft or air vehicle currently in the inventory of the United States or any foreign nation,” the assessment stated.

The assessment further noted that the object demonstrated “advanced aerodynamic performance” with “no visible control surfaces, no visible means of propulsion and no visible exhaust.”

Speeds exceeding Mach 10

BAASS conducted a parametric velocity and acceleration analysis of the Tic Tac object based on radar tracking data and witness accounts. The results, presented in a table in the report, suggested the object reached speeds and acceleration rates far beyond those of any known aircraft.

At a conservative transit time estimate of five seconds, the analysis calculated the object’s velocity at Mach 10.7, with an acceleration of 75g. At a one-second transit time, the figures rose to Mach 53.8 and 375g. At half a second, the modelled speed reached Mach 107.5 with 750g of acceleration.

For context, the fastest crewed aircraft ever built, the SR-71 Blackbird, reached speeds of around Mach 3.3. Human pilots begin to lose consciousness at sustained accelerations above 9g.

The DIA assessment observed that the object had been tracked descending from above 60,000 feet to approximately 50 feet in a matter of seconds, and had been witnessed travelling from the encounter area to the carrier strike group’s combat air patrol point, a distance of roughly 60 miles, in under a minute.

Computational fluid dynamics modelling

To model the aerodynamic behaviour suggested by the Tic Tac encounter, BAASS used ANSYS Multiphysics, an industry-standard finite element analysis package (running on a dedicated 12-core HP server with 48GB RAM and 1TB of storage).

The firm created three-dimensional solid models of the Tic Tac geometry in SolidWorks and ran compressible fluid flow simulations using the ANSYS CFX module. These simulations modelled air pressure, temperature and Mach number contours around the object at various speeds, from 100 mph through to 1,500 mph.

The report noted that at speeds up to 500 mph, pressure, temperature and Mach number values increased gradually, with the most significant changes occurring at the front of the object. As speeds approached 700 mph, close to the speed of sound, the simulations showed pronounced shock formations in the pressure and Mach contours.

At 1,100 mph, the simulated temperature rose not only at the nose but also along the sides and in the wake of the object. Detached shock waves appeared in the simulations from 700 mph upward through to 1,500 mph.

“In the field of UAP studies, it is believed this preliminary analysis of the Tic Tac incident is the first of its kind to utilize a multi-industry standard Finite Element Analysis (FEA) code to perform computational studies,” the report stated.

BAASS performed extensive modelling to explain the military-documented behaviour of the ‘Tic Tac.’

Flat-faced cylinder comparison

BAASS also modelled a right circular cylinder geometry for comparison, noting that while “it would seem counter intuitive to have a craft with a flat face pushing through the air,” there had been “many reports of objects of just this sort seen maneuvering in the skies.”

The cylinder simulations showed no significant aerodynamic lift advantages over the Tic Tac shape at any speed tested. The report concluded that both basic geometries served as a starting point for more complex simulations that could incorporate heat generation, electromagnetic effects and acoustics.

BAASS noted the simulations indicated that a sonic boom or vibration “may have been perturbated into the environment” at higher velocities, though it judged it “doubtful the aircrew would have felt a shock wave in the cockpit unless extremely close to the object while traveling at high rates of speed, which the fighter jets were not.”

The report characterised the work as demonstrating “in a basic model that FEA algorithms describing multiphysics can provide to be an invaluable tool in gaining insight into UAP flight characteristics and even possibly rule out improbable scenarios.”

Simulating a UAP entering water

A separate analysis modelled a disc-shaped UAP descending through the air and entering a body of water, a scenario relevant to the disturbed water observed during the Tic Tac encounter and to reports of unidentified submerged objects more broadly.

The simulation modelled a solid steel disc moving downward at five metres per second into water at 25 degrees Celsius. Three distinct phases were created: air, the solid UAP and water. The water surface sat approximately ten feet below the bottom of the disc.

The simulation ran for ten seconds in 0.2-second time steps, tracking pressure changes, volume fraction of water and fluid velocity as the disc penetrated the surface. Results showed the expected trend of increasing pressure with depth, and concentric ripple patterns spreading outward from the point of water entry.

BAASS described the scenario as illustrative of what ANSYS CFX could produce, noting that “a typical problem of this type when solved by hand, would have taken weeks if not longer.” The report suggested the tools could be extended to study heat transfer from a craft entering the atmosphere, wave generation during water impact at various speeds and the recreation of eyewitness observations.

Underwater acoustics and the Shag Harbour incident

The report dedicated a section to the acoustical analysis of spherical unidentified submerged objects, drawing on one of the few cases where a government agency formally acknowledged an encounter with an unidentified flying object entering water.

In 1967, a UFO was reported crashing into Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia. Witnesses described hovering, flashing orange lights before the object tilted at a 45-degree angle and entered the water, leaving a trail of yellow foam. At least eleven people reported seeing a low-flying, lit object heading toward the harbour.

“Multiple witnesses reported hearing a whistling sound ‘like a bomb,’ then a ‘whoosh,’ and finally a loud bang,” the report recounted. “Some reported a flash of light as the object entered the water.”

The Canadian Coast Guard was dispatched but found only yellow foam at the point of entry. The report noted that several military witnesses, including a diver involved in recovery efforts, claimed an alien spacecraft was responsible. The case was briefly investigated by a US Air Force UFO study, which offered no explanation.

BAASS used the incident as a basis for developing an acoustical analysis framework for USOs, proposing that such craft might “operate using some sort of electromagnetic frequency based propulsion system to control underwater ‘flight’ and to achieve incredible performance capabilities in velocity and acceleration.”

Some of BAASS’ ANSYS modelling of trans-medium USO UAP disc.

The acoustical modelling used a full harmonic simulation to analyse how a radiating sphere would propagate sound waves underwater. The analysis concluded that varying frequencies produced acoustic pressures that declined with distance following an inverse square law relationship.

“In the future, ships and submarines could possibly detect these pressure disturbances and a frequency of the mode of operation could be calculated with a known distance from the vessel,” the report stated.

Electromagnetic modelling and radar cross section

BAASS also explored the electromagnetic characteristics of spherical UAPs, noting that ANSYS Multiphysics included a full-wave electromagnetic solver capable of modelling resonant, propagating, radiation and scattering phenomena.

The report highlighted a recurring puzzle from UAP encounters: pilots reporting visual contact with objects that did not appear on radar.

“Many UAP have been reported across the globe. Pilots have reported seeing these craft in the air, but when asked for confirmation of other aircraft in the area, air traffic control reports nothing on radar,” the report observed.

To investigate this, BAASS conducted a radar cross section analysis of a 10-metre spherical metallic object with a one-metre dielectric coating. The analysis used a 300MHz ultrahigh frequency radar frequency, representative of a long-range military radar system.

The report compared typical radar cross sections across a range of objects and platforms, from insects and birds at the low end through cruise missiles, fighter jets, bombers, surface ships and aircraft carriers at the high end. It noted that the radar cross section of a stealth aircraft was “typically multiple orders of magnitude lower than a conventional plane and is often comparable to that of a small bird or large insect.”

The analysis found the FEA model to be mesh-independent, with the 25-element-per-wavelength model producing results consistent with the 50-element model. Normalised radar cross section values varied from 0 to 180 degrees, with the largest returns occurring at the point of incidence as expected.

The report concluded that “various shapes of UAPs may be evaluated for RCS and the resulting electric field due to an incidental radar wave is also attainable,” and that the information could be used to “determine the prominence of an object’s expected RCS and whether similar radar returns were received.”

Eleven databases in a single warehouse

Beyond computational modelling, BAASS built a data warehouse called Project Capella, comprising eleven databases that the report described as a “Six Layer Model for Anomalous Phenomena.” The warehouse was designed to catalogue and cross-reference UAP sighting data, witness reports and physical evidence.

BAASS also assembled a field investigation kit that included high-definition video cameras, night vision equipment, thermal imaging cameras, GPS devices, microscopes, radiation detectors and spectrum analysers. The equipment was intended for rapid deployment to UAP sighting locations for evidence collection.

The report listed five categories of commonly reported UAP shapes: saucer or disc, ellipsoidal or oval, cylindrical or cigar-shaped, sphere and triangle. Each shape was associated with distinct reported flight characteristics and capabilities.

A broader research agenda

The report’s summary made clear that BAASS viewed the computational analysis work as a starting point, not a conclusion. It described academic areas of concentration including computational fluid dynamics, heat transfer, nuclear engineering, electromagnetics, radio frequencies, theoretical and computational physics, biological sciences and chemistry.

“Theoretical and computational applications, as well as experimentation on components of non-conventional propulsion systems is under way to provide for future development of vehicles that are capable of operating in the atmosphere, under water and in space,” the report stated.

The goal, according to BAASS, was hypersonic flight that would provide “superior performance in its ability to reach intended targets, faster delivery of weapons, greater effective range and an engagement capability enabling employment of complex tactics against multiple targets across multiple domains.”

The report further stated that BAASS’s “acquired knowledge and capabilities are leading the way to quantum leaps in technology for travel in the atmosphere, space and under water, along with advances in armament and defense systems.”

Where analytical solutions did not exist or the geometry was too complex, the report concluded, “BAASS incorporates ANSYS Multiphysics to provide a powerful computational platform to solve large problems numerically, while combining and solving many different physical equations.”

The combination of computational software with field measurement equipment and historical databases of UAP events, the report argued, allowed BAASS “to utilize state of the art engineering techniques and tools to assess the operational capabilities of UAP and USOs.”

“A greater understanding of these objects will allow for an accurate threat assessment, as well as provide the physics behind the incredible performance attributes that some have displayed,” the report concluded.

The references section of the report was redacted under exemption 1843(a)(2), as were the names of BAASS personnel throughout the document.

• Last Updated on October 28, 2026 by Nick Ross

{ https://smbtech.au/category/features/ }

Amy Eskridge Claimed Secret Space Program Members Thanked Her for a Machine She Never Built

Amy Eskridge

Although much of the attention surrounding Eskridge has focused on her claims about suppressed antigravity technology and the circumstances of her death in 2022, her account of the supposed secret space program participants remains one of the strangest parts of the interview.

Amy Catherine Eskridge was born on September 19, 1987, in Huntsville, Alabama, a city closely associated with America’s aerospace and military research. She graduated from the University of Alabama in Huntsville with a background in chemistry and biology and later became involved in research concerning gravity modification, advanced materials, propulsion, and other experimental technologies.

Her father, Richard Eskridge, was a retired NASA engineer, and the two worked together on projects involving unconventional propulsion research. She also co-founded the Institute for Exotic Science, an organization intended to support research into scientific ideas that she believed were being neglected or kept outside conventional academic institutions.

In the 2020 interview, Eskridge discussed what she described as encounters with people identifying themselves as “20-and-backers.” The term comes from a controversial secret space program narrative in which individuals allegedly serve for twenty years in classified off-world operations before being returned to Earth. Some versions of the story involve advanced spacecraft, hidden colonies, altered memories, and technology capable of manipulating time. None of these claims has been independently established, but they have circulated within UFO communities for years.

Eskridge said she had encountered several individuals making such claims through the internet. According to her, these people repeatedly approached her with an unusual expression of gratitude, thanking her for her service and for developing the same medical device. She could not understand why they were all referring to something she had never produced.

She recalled that they kept thanking her for creating the “3D holographic medpod.” In secret space program stories, such devices are described as futuristic medical chambers supposedly capable of scanning the human body, detecting diseases, repairing damaged tissues, and even regenerating organs using advanced technology. However, no machine with these extraordinary capabilities has been scientifically verified.

When Eskridge explained that she had not invented such a device, they continued speaking as though she had already completed the work. The repetition was what troubled her. She said approximately three to five people had told her similar things, and she could not understand why people who apparently did not know one another were giving her credit for the same invention.

The medpod claim became even more unusual when Eskridge explained that she had already developed an idea for how such a machine could be built. She insisted that she had worked out her intended approach before anyone contacted her to thank her.

During the conversation, Sokol also mentioned a person named Jeremiah who was reportedly developing something similar. He said they had previously discussed the project by telephone and that Jeremiah had shown Eskridge an early prototype associated with the concept.

However, the interview does not establish that a functioning holographic medical device existed or that the supposed secret space program participants possessed knowledge of future technology. Eskridge herself appeared disturbed by the repeated messages and eventually stopped communicating with the individuals because their behavior made her uncomfortable.

The story has an unusual connection to another subject discussed in the same interview: the possibility that some supposed extraterrestrial visitors might actually be humans from the future. However, Eskridge did not demonstrate that the people contacting her were time travelers, nor did she establish that they had participated in any classified space program. Her account was based on what these individuals told her and how she interpreted their behavior.

Long before the 2020 conversation, Eskridge had publicly expressed concerns about the history of antigravity research. On December 6, 2018, she delivered a presentation titled “A Historical Perspective on Anti-Gravity Technology” to the Huntsville Alabama L5 Society, commonly known as HAL5. The event took place at the Huntsville-Madison County Main Public Library and examined more than a century of unconventional propulsion ideas, including controversial experiments involving electricity, superconductors, and alleged gravity modification.

Among the researchers discussed in her presentation were physicists Ning Li and Eugene Podkletnov. Li had investigated theoretical relationships between superconductors and gravitational effects, while Podkletnov became known for controversial claims that rotating superconducting materials could produce a small reduction in an object’s apparent weight. Neither line of research has produced a generally accepted demonstration of controllable antigravity, but Eskridge believed certain experimental results deserved further investigation.

Her presentation questioned why some promising research appeared to disappear from public discussion after attracting institutional or government interest. She was particularly interested in the history of Ning Li, whose work during the 1990s had drawn attention because of its possible implications for propulsion. Li later established AC Gravity LLC and received a Defense Department research contract, after which public information about her experiments became limited. Li was sometimes described online as having mysteriously disappeared, although later reporting established that she remained in Alabama and died on July 27, 2021.

By 2020, Eskridge had developed much stronger opinions about the suppression of advanced technology. During her conversation with Rys and Sokol, she claimed that antigravity had already been independently discovered several times and that previous breakthroughs had been suppressed. She attributed part of this information to a man named Dan Cooper, whom she described as a contact associated with supposed secret space program stories.

According to Eskridge, Cooper told her that the National Security Agency possessed a list of five individuals who had independently discovered what people commonly call antigravity. In discussing the supposed list, she mentioned Nikola Tesla, Eugene Podkletnov, Ken Wheeler, Cooper himself, and her father, Richard Eskridge. Her recollection was sometimes uncertain, and she appeared to be combining information Cooper allegedly provided with her own interpretation of who the individuals might be.

She claimed Cooper had warned her that earlier discoveries had been suppressed but suggested that the situation might finally be changing. According to her account, some people wanted her to publish the research because they believed the technology should become public. Others, however, allegedly warned her that revealing it could cost her life. Eskridge described receiving completely opposite messages from different individuals, leaving her unsure whether powerful interests wanted the research released or permanently concealed.

One aspect of her scientific thinking rarely mentioned in discussions about her concerns was something she called “gravity chemistry.” Eskridge argued that if scientists could manipulate gravity or an unknown force associated with it, the applications might extend far beyond making spacecraft levitate. She believed such technology could potentially influence chemical reactions and allow researchers to break covalent bonds without requiring extremely high temperatures or pressures.

She explained that her father was primarily interested in propulsion, whereas her own chemistry background led her to imagine entirely different uses for the same hypothetical technology. She described the possibility of breaking chemical bonds at room temperature while using relatively little energy. Such an achievement, if physically possible, would have major implications for industrial chemistry and materials processing. However, the interview provided no experimental demonstration that gravitational manipulation could produce this effect, and the proposed mechanism remains speculative.

Another extraordinary part of the conversation involved physicist Hal Puthoff, a well-known figure in unconventional physics and UFO-related research. Puthoff has been associated with studies of remote viewing, advanced propulsion concepts, and later government-related investigations into unidentified aerial phenomena. Eskridge claimed that Puthoff had visited her family’s home in Huntsville three times through a connection involving an investor who was working with her father.

She explained that she had previously lived in Seattle, where she was involved in business activities concerning encrypted digital storage. During one visit home, she happened to be present when Puthoff came to the house. According to Eskridge, the two sat at her family’s dining room table while he discussed a concept she had not previously investigated: ultraterrestrials.

The idea was different from the conventional belief that UFO occupants are extraterrestrial visitors arriving from distant planets. Eskridge described ultraterrestrials as beings who might originate from Earth itself rather than somewhere else in the universe. She said they could look like ordinary human beings, making them potentially indistinguishable from the population around them. The implication was that an intelligence associated with UFOs might not need to travel across interstellar distances because its origins could be connected to Earth.

Eskridge then discussed another unusual theory involving two groups she called P-47 and P-52. She explained these designations as referring to humans approximately 47,000 and 52,000 years into the future. According to the story she described, a catastrophic event would occur in humanity’s future, killing much of the population while leaving separate groups of survivors.

Some people would supposedly retreat underground to escape the disaster, while others would survive on Earth’s surface. Over tens of thousands of years, the separate populations would follow different evolutionary paths, eventually producing forms of humanity that might appear extraordinary to people living today. Eskridge presented this as a possible explanation for the mysterious beings described in certain UFO accounts, although the recorded conversation does not establish that Puthoff personally introduced her to the specific P-47 and P-52 narrative.

She told Rys and Sokol that she had never even searched Google for alien information and claimed that much of what she knew about the subject came from conversations with people she had encountered through her family connections and scientific work.

She repeatedly emphasized that she had grown up surrounded by aerospace technology rather than UFO theories. Huntsville was home to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Redstone Arsenal, and numerous contractors involved in military and space systems. Her father had spent years working in that environment, and she believed this background had brought her into contact with unusual individuals and unfamiliar research ideas.

However, Eskridge’s growing interest in these subjects was accompanied by an increasingly disturbing set of personal experiences that she attributed to surveillance and intimidation. She claimed that people had repeatedly entered an apartment she previously shared with a boyfriend, apparently while both occupants were away. She described returning home on one occasion to find a USB charging cable cut in half, with one section still connected to a wall socket.

On another occasion, she said a bedroom window that had been left open was mysteriously closed when she returned home. She interpreted this as evidence that someone had entered the property and knew about a conversation she had previously had with her boyfriend. She also described finding Bluetooth headphones unplugged after leaving them charging, followed by discovering that someone appeared to have searched through her personal belongings.

Eskridge believed these incidents were deliberate attempts to frighten her. She also claimed that strangers were following her, that electronic communications were being compromised, and that some people were trying to extract information about her work.

She also described a Lexus whose license plates allegedly changed repeatedly, which she interpreted as evidence of organized surveillance. These events were presented as her personal experiences, but the recording does not provide independent evidence establishing who, if anyone, was responsible.

She also described being approached by individuals who allegedly offered financial support for experimental research but appeared more interested in obtaining technical information. Some, she believed, were using the possibility of investment to persuade researchers to reveal their ideas. Her distrust extended to certain people who had entered her personal life, although the allegations she made about their motives and affiliations have not been independently verified.

The pressure she described helps explain her unusual plan for releasing the research. At the beginning of the 2020 conversation, Eskridge discussed the possibility of publishing a scientific paper, arranging documentary coverage, and involving numerous online media outlets at approximately the same time. She wanted the information distributed widely enough that it could not easily be removed from public access.

She considered releasing a paper through an online archive rather than relying entirely on conventional academic publishing. She also discussed the possibility of involving filmmaker and UFO disclosure advocate Steven Greer, while considering how mainstream television coverage might help establish the significance of the work. Eskridge believed a coordinated release would attract public attention and make it more difficult for anyone to interfere with the information after publication.

Her concern was not limited to preserving research. She suggested that public visibility could offer some personal protection because the disappearance or death of a well-known researcher would be harder to ignore than the loss of someone working privately. She explained that the Institute for Exotic Science had partly been established to provide a recognizable public identity through which controversial research might eventually be released.

Despite those plans, no publicly available research paper has independently demonstrated the functioning antigravity technology Eskridge discussed. Her 2018 presentation remains an important record of her interests and the historical experiments she was investigating, but it was primarily a review of earlier work rather than a documented demonstration of a new gravity-modification device.

On June 11, 2022, Amy Eskridge died in Huntsville, Alabama, at the age of 34. Her family obituary, published later that month, remembered her as an intelligent and passionate researcher who questioned conventional scientific thinking and maintained an ambitious vision for future technology. Her death was reported as a suicide, although her earlier statements about threats subsequently became the subject of intense speculation within UFO and alternative-science communities.

The controversy gained renewed attention in 2026 as discussions about deceased and missing American researchers spread across social media and news outlets. Some commentators suggested that Eskridge’s death might be connected to her work, but her father, Richard Eskridge, publicly rejected that interpretation. In comments reported by NewsNation in April 2026, he stated that there was nothing suspicious about her death and pushed back against claims that she had been killed because of antigravity research.

Growing discussion on Amy Eskridge in 2026…

In April 2026, almost four years after her death, her name appeared among a growing list of American scientists and researchers whose deaths or disappearances were being publicly questioned. The renewed interest eventually reached the White House and FBI, which began examining whether any of the cases might be connected. However, investigators had not established a common explanation linking the individuals, and the review did not establish that Eskridge had been murdered or that her research was responsible for her death.

Another interesting development came in May 2026 when former Pentagon UFO official Luis Elizondo publicly confirmed that he had met Eskridge around 2018. During an interview on the UAP: Unidentified Alien Podcast, Elizondo recalled having dinner with her and her father in Huntsville, Alabama.

According to him, they believed people were trying to intimidate them over their antigravity research. He also revealed that Eskridge had offered to demonstrate the technology to him and his colleagues, but the demonstration never took place. Elizondo said he had wanted to help her and did not know why she had reportedly described him as evil.

Read also:

• This Man Claims Aliens Can Move Humans Through Solid Walls Using Quantum Phenomenon, Says Eight Military Veterans Reported Abductions
• Woman Claims She Saw a LIVE Alien After UFO Crash, Then Military Men Tried to Erase Her Memory
• Grant Morrison Said ‘Aliens’ Took Him Outside Space-Time And Showed Him What Humans Really Are

Around the same time, journalist Ross Coulthart revealed that he had communicated with Eskridge before her death and that she had claimed to have achieved a major breakthrough in antigravity technology. Coulthart believed her death deserved further investigation, although he acknowledged that the various missing and deceased scientists being discussed were not necessarily connected. His comments added another firsthand account of Eskridge speaking privately about a supposed breakthrough, but they did not establish whether such a discovery had actually been made.

Former British intelligence officer Franc Milburn also attracted attention after discussing messages he said Eskridge had sent him shortly before she died. According to Milburn, Eskridge repeatedly expressed fears about her safety and claimed that someone had targeted her with a directed-energy weapon. He said she had sent him photographs of injuries and warned that she would never take her own life. Milburn also claimed to have spoken with her approximately four hours before her death. His statements generated renewed discussion about the circumstances surrounding her final months, although the alleged attacks and their possible connection to her death have not been independently verified.

Her father, Richard Eskridge, publicly disagreed with suggestions that his daughter had been murdered because of her research. Speaking to NewsNation in April 2026, he said he did not believe her death was suspicious. Her family also pushed back against speculation surrounding the case, making clear that they did not accept the conspiracy theories spreading online.

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{ https://howandwhys.com/ }

Astronomers Solve the Mystery of the Sun’s Spinning Plasma Jets

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

Monster of the deep: 'Beautiful and horrifying' barreleye fish is filmed in 4K for the first time

By SHIVALI BEST, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

A rarely seen barreleye fish has been filmed in 4K for the first time – with viewers calling the unusual creature 'beautiful and horrifying'. 

During a recent expedition off the coast of Central California, scientists from Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute encountered the fish approximately 1,970 feet (600 metres) underwater.

The barreleye fish – which has a transparent head – has only ever been seen 11 times before.

'Seeing a barreleye fish is a rare treat,' said senior scientist Steven Haddock.

'Crew from across the ship joined the science team in the control room, mesmerized by this remarkable animal. 

'Deep–sea animals capture the imagination, creating wonder and awe that we hope will inspire stewardship of the largest living space on Earth.'

A rarely seen barreleye fish has been filmed in 4K for the first time – with viewers calling the unusual creature 'beautiful and horrifying'

During the expedition, around 55 miles (90km) off the coast of California, scientists set off in a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) in search of gelatinous animals like jellyfish, siphonophores, and ctenophores. 

Just as the ROV was travelling back to the surface at the end of the day, research specialist Shannon Johnson spotted the barreleye fish, and called for the team to stop. 

'Stop stop stop stop stop,' Ms Johnson can be heard telling the team, before taking a deep inhale of breath. 

Barreleye fish – also known as Macropinna microstoma – live in the ocean's twilight zone, which extends between 660 and 3,280ft (200 and 1,000 metres) below the surface. 

The creature has large fins that provide stability and maneuverability as it keeps its eyes fixed on the waters above, in search of silhouettes of prey. 

Once a contender has been spotted, the fish's eyes rotate to keep it in sight, with a gelatinous layer forming a shield of protection. 

'Macropinna reminds us of the surprising ways that animals have adapted to thrive in the ocean's midwater,' Mr Haddock said. 

Just as the ROV was travelling back to the surface at the end of the day, research specialist Shannon Johnson spotted the barreleye fish, and called for the team to stop

The creature has large fins that provide stability and maneuverability as it keeps its eyes fixed on the waters above, in search of silhouettes of prey

'So many of them survive by looking for subtle optical cues, like a shadow passing overhead, and this sets off evolutionary competition, pitting bioluminescent camouflage against increasingly sophisticated visual capabilities.'

After spotting the incredibly rare barreleye fish, the team spent 20 minutes observing it, using a high–resolution 4K camera to capture stunning footage of it. 

Amazingly, in nearly 40 years of ocean exploration – including 7,000 dives – this species has only been seen 11 times before. 

'This is our first observation filmed in 4K, and the footage will help researchers better understand how animals see in the dim light of the deep sea,' the team explained. 

The footage has delighted animal lovers on YouTube, with many taking to the comments. 

'I've seen barreleye videos before, but not deepsea like this. WOW. The transparency of deep sea critters always amazes me, intrigues me to look closely and examine it, but also kind of icks me at the same time,' one viewer said. 

Another wrote: 'absolutely loooove hearing scientists get excited over cool little guys and wish i could've heard the comms for this.'

And one added: 'These are so fascinating! They are beautiful and horrifying, just like the ocean.'

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{ https://www.dailymail.com/sciencetech/index.html }

Pilots flying over Ohio contacted air traffic control after spotting a strange object near their plane, only to be told nothing was registering on radar.

An account posted to the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) on October 26 described a silver, pill-shaped UFO that appeared almost stationary as the aircraft approached.

One pilot captured a photograph of the object, which he described during a follow-up interview with NUFORC investigator Ben Hansen. The encounter occurred on August 16.

‘The surface was silver and highly reflective, like pure polished metal,’ reads the investigator’s report, which identified the pilot only as ‘J.’

‘J described the UAP as uniform, pill-shaped. There were no warps or creases on the surface, nor was it tapered at the bottom,' Hansen wrote.

The crew saw no other aircraft on their collision-warning system or flight-tracking app. According to the report, Cleveland Center air traffic controllers also told them no aircraft or unidentified objects were showing on radar.

J believed the object may have emerged from thunderstorm clouds the pilots were attempting to fly between.

He questioned whether a balloon could have survived those conditions, reporting that their own aircraft experienced engine icing and moderate turbulence after entering the clouds.

One pilot captured a photograph of the object, describing it as a silver, pill-shaped UFO that appeared almost stationary as the aircraft approached

The NUFORC confirmed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) did not detect an object on radar and found no database matches for planned balloon launches.

'Coupled with the witness’s estimate that the object was at least 30 feet in height and uniformly shaped without tapering at the top or bottom, it presents some challenges to the balloon theory,'  Hansen said in the report.

At about 8pm ET, the pilots said they had reached 41,000 feet and were approaching a large thunderstorm, with clouds rising as high as 55,000 feet.

They dcided flying through a gap between the clouds was the safest route. 

That was when J spotted a strange object ahead of them, slightly above their plane. 

He initially reported that it was about five miles away, but later estimated the distance was closer to two or three miles. 

The pilots estimated that the object was flying at about 43,000 feet, traveling in the opposite direction and passing to their left. 

He initially wondered whether it was a weather balloon. However, its even shape, with no narrowing at the bottom, made him question that explanation.

NUFORC shared a CGI recreation of the UFO based on the witness's description

Its surface looked like highly polished metal. J believed its brightness came from reflecting sunlight rather than producing its own light.

The encounter lasted about two minutes. Flight information he later supplied showed that their plane was traveling at roughly 380mph.

J took one photograph with his iPhone after the object had passed them. By then, he estimated it was about seven miles behind the aircraft. He stressed that his description came from seeing it much closer earlier in the encounter.

The pilot said the way they approached and passed the object reminded him of encounters with oncoming aircraft, reinforcing his impression that it was moving rather than floating in place.

About a minute after first spotting it, he contacted Cleveland Center air traffic controllers to ask whether any aircraft or weather balloons were nearby.

Nothing appeared on the plane’s collision-warning system or the pilot’s flight-tracking app. According to J’s account, controllers also told the crew that nothing was showing on radar in the area where they saw the object.

The pilots continued watching it until it disappeared into the distance behind them.

NUFORC said the encounter raises wider questions about how authorities handle reports of unidentified objects near civilian aircraft.

The organization said there was no indication the FAA had referred this sighting to other agencies for a parallel investigation, arguing that potential aviation hazards deserve closer scrutiny.

It also highlighted an exchange in the audio recording in which an air traffic controller joked about the pilots submitting a NUFORC report, saying: ‘Make sure you include what color the alien was.’

NUFORC argued that such reactions reinforce the stigma surrounding UFO sightings and can discourage pilots from reporting encounters.

Even if an object ultimately proves to be a balloon, the organization said its presence in controlled airspace can raise safety concerns. 

Aircraft traveling at hundreds of miles per hour could suffer serious damage in a collision, while unidentified surveillance balloons could pose a national security threat.

{ https://www.dailymail.com/sciencetech/index.html }

US intelligence report offers first clear glimpse at top–secret Chinese spaceplane accused of releasing mysterious objects above Earth

By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

A US intelligence report has offered the first clear glimpse at China's top–secret spaceplane.

The robotic Shenlong, or 'divine dragon' spacecraft has previously been seen releasing mysterious objects in Low–Earth Orbit (LEO).

Since its first mission in 2020, the mysterious plane has been the subject of intense observation by governments, space agencies and private companies.

However, until now, no one has seen more than a blurry photo of the light reflecting off its panels.

This first high–resolution image was released in the Defence Intelligence Agency's (DIA) latest Challenges to Security in Space report.

Buried in the 130–page document was a previously unseen image of the plane captured by Maxar Technologies, now Vantor, in 2024.

The report simply captions the image as a 'PRC [People's Republic of China] Spaceplane', adding that 'spaceplanes can launch into orbit to place objects in space or even test them and return to Earth'.

Oddly, neither the report nor caption mentioned that this was the first image of its kind or that it was previously classified, raising questions about why this image has now been revealed.

A US intelligence report has offered the first clear glimpse of China's top–secret Shelong, or 'divine dragon', spaceplane (pictured)

The image was captured by the intelligence company Vantor in 2024. It shows that the craft's payload doors are open and that it is docked with a secondary satellite 

Much like the American space shuttle, the Shenlong spaceplane is launched from Earth aboard a rocket, before entering orbit and landing like a plane. 

Its most recent mission began on February 7 this year, after it took off on a Long March 2F rocket from China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

However, China has remained exceptionally secretive about its experimental spaceplane and has not even released an official photo of the spacecraft.

This means this image is the first time the public has had a good chance to examine Shenlong and learn more about its potential capabilities.

Vantor, in an update on X, said: 'The report documents China’s expanding presence in space, including reusable space systems, and features Vantor’s WorldView Space imagery of a Chinese spaceplane in orbit in 2024.'

The company's annotated version of the photo describes the craft as PRC Test Spacecraft 3 and notes that it is 26ft long (8m).

The image also highlights that the payload bay doors are visible as partly open and that there is a secondary satellite docked on the rear.

This 32ft–wide (10m) satellite is likely to be a 'service module', a type of satellite that connects with spacecraft to provide them with additional power, propulsion or support systems.

Importantly, this photo also reveals what many experts had already anticipated: Shenlong is nearly identical to the US Space Force's own robotic spaceplane.

Originally developed as a NASA research project before being taken over by the Department of Defence, the US X–37 spaceplane is a remarkably similar reusable craft.

Previously, the best images of the mysterious plane have been blurry reflections from its panel. However, radar tracking has shown the plane releasing several mysterious objects in orbit  

Since 2010, X–37B has flown seven missions and spent more than 2,000 days in space conducting secret missions.

Officially, X–37B is an 'experimental test program to demonstrate technologies for a reliable, reusable, uncrewed space test platform for the U.S. Air Force,' but its specific purposes are unknown.

However, what is now abundantly clear is the remarkable similarity between the older American spaceplane and its new Chinese counterpart.

Professor Jonathan McDowell, a satellite tracking expert from Durham University Space Research Centre, told the Daily Mail: 'The Chinese spaceplane is very similar to the X–37B, with a payload bay in the middle and a jettisonable service module with solar arrays at the back.

'The wings are slightly different, but the overall layout, down to the tilted rear fins, says to me that some important official in China went to the space folks with a picture of the X–37B and said, "build me one of these".'

However, despite these new images, many of the details concerning Shenlong and its functions remain unclear.

As the report notes, China has two named spaceplanes, Shenlong and Tengyun, meaning 'cloud rider', and it isn't necessarily clear which this image shows.

Likewise, the DIA simply noted that China has launched three spaceplane missions, one in 2020, the second in 2022, and a third beginning in 2023.

Experts say that the Shenlong spaceplane is extremely similar in design to the US Space Force's own robotic spaceplane, the X–38B (pictured)

US–based space tracking firm Leo Labs previously spotted 'an unknown object in the vicinity of the Chinese Shenlong reusable spaceplane', suggesting that it may be releasing small satellites in Low Earth Orbit 

We do not yet know whether these were all conducted by the same plane or whether China has multiple operational spaceplanes in orbit.

Most importantly, the DIA has not yet publicly speculated on what Shenlong has been doing in LEO over these years.

Previous radar tracking has captured Shenlong releasing nine unidentified payloads around Earth.

It is believed that these are small, simple satellites called cubesats, but their function remains unclear.

In 2026, Professor McDowell also observed that Shenlong appeared to release a satellite into orbit before returning to retrieve it several months later.

The new report also notes that, during its second mission in November 2022, the spaceplane came within 330ft (100m) of a smaller spacecraft, potentially capturing and re–releasing it.

'I suspect the vehicle also has a robot arm for deploying and retrieving satellites, but that is not visible on the photo,' Professor McDowell explains.

However, despite the alarm this incident caused, Professor McDowell believes the spaceplanes' function is simply to 'show they [China] can do a robotic mini shuttle'.

Experts suggest that the Shenlong spaceplane is designed to demonstrate China's capability to launch a robotic shuttle and to test technology in orbit. Pictured: An artistic render of the spaceplane

He adds that it would be 'good for testing new equipment in orbit and then returning it to Earth intact for refurbishment and reuse'.

These findings come as the US warns of a rapid growth in capabilities within China's military and civilian space program. 

Besides Shenlong, China has also revealed images of a planned cargo spaceplane called Haolong, set to serve the Tiangong Space Station.

Haolong is known to weigh around 7,000 kilograms, with a length of 32ft (10m) and a width of 24ft (8m) with its wings unfolded.

The DIA now warns that China's 'rapidly expanding space program' is second only to America's own in size and ability.

Since 2016, the number of space launches taking place each year has more than tripled from 22 to 93, and Beijing has started deploying nine times more satellites per year. 

Most worryingly, the NIA's report warns that China sees space as a 'strategic priority for military dominance'.

The report says: 'China has developed and will continue to advance weapons for use against satellites in orbit to disrupt, damage, and destroy other nations’ space capabilities.

China has also revealed plans for a commercial cargo spaceplane, dubbed Haolong, set to supply the Tiangong Space Station 

'China continues to research, develop, test, and deploy multiple types of counterspace weapons, including ground-based ASAT missile systems capable of destroying satellites.'

Despite decades of international consensus that space was off limits for direct military action, multiple nations are now aiming to weaponise Earth's orbit.

In September, US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink confirmed that the United States has 'on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action.'

This was the first time that the US has ever confirmed it has weapons stationed in space, raising concerns over a new space arms race. 

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U.S. intelligence reveals classified Chinese spaceplane in orbit

Roman Nehriienko

U.S. intelligence has released an image of China’s spaceplane taken in orbit by a commercial satellite in 2024. The spacecraft closely resembles the American X-37B in design. The photograph appeared in an unclassified report on space threats to the United States. The report also suggests that China could deploy directed-energy weapons, including lasers, in orbit within the next few years.

China’s Shenlong spaceplane in an image taken in 2024 by a satellite operated by Vantor, formerly Maxar.

Credit: U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency/Maxar Technologies

An Image from a Commercial Satellite

The photograph shows delta wings, payload bay doors, a dark heat shield, and a service module with solar panels. The design largely mirrors the X-37B operated by the U.S. Space Force. The image was captured by a satellite belonging to Vantor, which was still known as Maxar in 2024.

The Pentagon released the full-resolution image on Monday, October 26, in a Defense Intelligence Agency report, according to Ars Technica. Vantor’s satellites photograph Earth for the U.S. military, but their telescopes can also be pointed at other objects in orbit when their paths cross. These encounters typically occur at extremely high relative speeds, providing opportunities to observe other countries’ classified spacecraft.

The American military spaceplane X-37B after landing at Vandenberg  Space Force Base in California. It is 9 meters long, approximately a quarter of the length of a Space Shuttle orbiter.

Credit: U.S. Space Force

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'Charred remains of Noah's Ark' discovered as researchers unearth burnt wood 30 feet underground

• READ MORE:Bible proven to be 'true' as ancient discoveries shed new light on Jesus' life

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

A vast, ship-shaped formation in eastern Turkey has long fueled speculation that the remains of Noah's Ark could lie hidden beneath its surface.

According to the Bible, the vessel sheltered Noah, his family and animals during a catastrophic flood, dated by some biblical chronologies to more than 4,300 years ago.

Now, researchers investigating the Durupınar Formation near Mount Ararat have reported finding charred wood underground, raising hopes that it could offer a clue to the biblical mystery. The samples have been sent for testing to establish their age and identify the type of wood.

Andrew Jones, founder of Noah's Ark Scans and vice president of the project, told the Daily Mail that both charred and uncharred wood had been recovered nearly 30 feet underground, adding that 'it is possible that we have found the charred remains of Noah's Ark.' 

He also acknowledged it might instead come from a shepherd's campfire 'he unwittingly decided to start while using the ark for shelter centuries ago.'

The team suggested the wood could have been burned deliberately or exposed to lightning or volcanic activity.

The discovery follows radar scans that Dr Khosrow Bakhtar, a veteran US defense scientist, said revealed patterns resembling chambers and corridors inside the roughly 515-foot-long formation.

'This is the most significant finding of 45 years of my career. It's not geologic related, because we masked all the geologic features,' Bakhtar said.

An international team are '100 percent confident' that the formation is a 'man-made object'

The wood's burned appearance has drawn particular interest because the Bible describes Noah being instructed to coat the ark inside and out with pitch, a waterproofing substance that can catch fire.

The team suggested that the burning may also have helped preserve the material, as charring can slow the breakdown of wood in soil.

If the samples eventually prove to be connected to the ark, a fire that damaged the vessel may have helped preserve traces of it.

The formation's location and boat-like outline have long fueled comparisons with the biblical account, which places the ark's resting place in the 'mountains of Ararat.'

The Durupınar Formation lies about 18 miles south of Mount Ararat, Turkey's highest peak.

Researchers also point to its roughly 515-foot length, which they say corresponds to the vessel described in Genesis. 

Using their conversion of biblical measurements, the ark would have measured approximately 515 feet long, 86 feet wide and 52 feet tall.

Two other major anomalies measured approximately 26 feet and 39 feet high, while another distinct underground feature stood about 23 feet high.

A radar scan of Turkey's Durupınar Formation shows underground features that researchers interpret as possible buried passageways at the suspected Noah's Ark site

The team found pottery that they say predates what biblical scholars call the Great Flood. Pictured right is the Turkish archaeologist leading the project, Dr Cenker Atila from Sivas Cumhuriyet University

At several locations, the radar detected a layer measuring 16 to 20 feet thick, approximately 16 feet beneath the surface.

The latest investigation builds on a 2019 radar survey that detected straight lines and angular patterns the team interpreted as possible walls, passageways and compartments.

In 2026, Bakhtar examined the formation using a more powerful radar system developed through US Air Force research, capable of reaching deeper underground.

The team reported detecting large underground boundaries and spaces that it interpreted as possible sediment-filled chambers, corridors and tunnels.

Five prominent features appeared to form a possible tunnel system stretching roughly 151 feet, with an average height of more than 14 feet.

Researchers also identified a thick underground layer that appeared to contain three separate sublayers, drawing comparisons with the Bible's description of an ark built with three decks.

'In our holy books, Noah's Ark had three levels; in our radar studies, we also identified a formation with three levels,' said Dr Cenker Atila, an archaeologist at Sivas Cumhuriyet University in Turkey.

The team claims it has '100 percent confirmed' that the formation is a 'man-made object' rather than a natural geological feature.

Jones, who has investigated the area for nearly 30 years, told the Daily Mail that neither radar surveys nor drilling inside the formation had detected limestone or solid bedrock.

A group of researchers think a formation in the Turkish mountains could be the remains of Noah's Ark 

Further studies using infrared thermography (IRT) could show a ship-shaped hull under the soil

The radar captured 'a series of right angles' about 20 feet down, which researchers believe could be rooms that held animals on the ark

'This destroys the theory that the site is a solid limestone block shaped into a boat by glaciers and weathering after coming down the mountainside, and it also refutes the theory that this is bedrock around which mud flowed to form the shape,' he said.

However, ruling out those explanations would not, by itself, establish that the formation was built by people.

Radar readings are also not photographs of exposed rooms or passageways. They show how signals respond to different materials and boundaries underground, which must be physically examined to establish what produced them.

The team is using the scans to identify promising locations for further drilling.

Jones acknowledged that the findings have not definitively identified the formation as the biblical vessel.

'I firmly believe the Durupınar Formation represents the buried remains of Noah's Ark,' he said, describing the scans as a 'compelling new line of evidence' rather than definitive proof.

Lauren Witzke, director of marketing and fundraising for Noah's Ark Scans, said the formation's exposed upper section was deteriorating.

The team pulled samples from the ground, finding charred and uncharred pieces of wood, which have been sent for testing to determine their age 

'

The top, and most exposed, tier is decaying, and the hardened mudflow encasing the rims of the boat are basically the only thing holding it together,' she said.

Witzke said the lower sections appeared better preserved and suggested drilling may have reached a floor of petrified wood. Those descriptions remain the team's interpretation, with laboratory testing of the recovered samples still pending.

The team also reported finding pottery outside the formation dating from the Chalcolithic, or Copper Age, through the Iron Age.

Researchers said the artifacts indicate that people occupied or visited the mountainside over a long period and could help guide further archaeological work.

Witzke suggested some pottery might have been connected to supplies carried aboard the ark or used by Noah's family after leaving it. Jones acknowledged that pottery alone cannot establish either connection.

The Durupinar Formation lies about 18 miles south of Mount Ararat, Turkey's highest peak

The site has attracted attention for decades. Local accounts say heavy rain and earthquakes exposed its unusual outline in 1948, when a Kurdish shepherd reportedly noticed it.

It gained wider recognition in 1959 after Turkish Army Captain İlhan Durupınar spotted its ship-like shape in aerial survey photographs.

Earlier investigators reported finding soil and rocks and concluded that the formation was natural. The current team argues that its new scans and recovered samples warrant further investigation.

'What excites me most about this phase is that we are transitioning from remote imaging to collecting physical samples deep within the site, allowing us to scientifically evaluate hypotheses that have been debated for decades,' Jones said.

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A robot delivery company has accused a British disability charity of 'selectively editing' videos showing its autonomous bots colliding with wheelchair users. 

In a video posted in September, Living Streets claimed to show Starship Technologies' robots on the streets of Leeds, blocking the pavement and tripping over blind pedestrians. 

The charity alleged that these delivery bots are 'putting pedestrians at risk' and accused the robotics firm of operating in 'a legal grey area'.

However, Starship Technologies claims these clips have been manipulated and is now threatening to take Living Streets to the regulator if it fails to set the record straight. 

After seeing the campaign video, Starship Technologies compiled a dossier of camera and sensor data from the robots involved in the incidents.

It claims that the data shows the robot tried to modify its route and avoid the crash, but collided after the wheelchair user deliberately accelerated.

Likewise, Starship Technologies says its data showed a scene in which the wheelchair user appears to be blocked was caused by the person choosing to pass on the much narrower side, despite plenty of room being available. 

However, in yet another twist, Living Streets has now released the raw footage of the supposed collisions – and is sticking by its claim that the crash was not faked.

A robot delivery company has accused a British disability charity of 'selectively editing' videos showing its autonomous bots colliding with wheelchair users

In a video posted in September, Living Streets claimed to show Starship Technologies robots on the streets of Leeds blocking the pavement and tripping over blind pedestrians

Starship Technologies alleges that it has written to Living Streets, offering to show them the data and correct the record.

And, if Living Streets doesn't agree, the company says it is willing to take them to the Charity Commission to correct the record.

Lisa Johnson, vice–president of Starship, told the Daily Mail: 'Their recent campaign video package is selectively edited and irresponsible, creating a misleading impression that robots are blocking or crowding wheelchair users.

'That is simply not the reality. If Living Streets zoomed out on that footage, the public would see just how much pavement space was actually available to safely pass.

Ms Johnson added: 'Our offer to Living Streets still stands. We want to work with them to make sure robot delivery works for everyone – including the disabled people who use and rely on robot deliveries in communities up and down the country.

'Across more than 11 million deliveries, our robots have shown that they are designed to give way to people, including wheelchair users. They demonstrated that again and again while Living Streets staged its ‘testing’ for the video. 

'We have raised a formal complaint with Living Streets and await their response. It would be more in sadness than anger if we referred them to the Charity Commission. Hopefully it won’t come to that, but they may leave us no choice.' 

However, the charity has now hit back against Starship Technologies, saying that the video had not been faked.

In the raw footage, after the robot bumps into the wheelchair user, the camera operator can be heard saying: 'Did it hit your legs? I thought it would have stopped.' 

Emily Green, 18, the wheelchair user in the film, told the Daily Mail: 'Starship claim I moved into their robot's path but dropped kerbs are placed there for the benefit of wheelchair users and I don't have the luxury of not using them.

Starship Technologies has hit back against the charity, claiming that the videos have been misleadingly edited to make their robots seem more of a nuisance than they really are

In yet another twist, Living Streets has now released the original raw footage of the incident, claiming that they were not set up 

'The independence of young wheelchair users like myself is important, and worth fighting for. Robots should not take priority over my safety and mobility.'

Likewise, a Living Streets spokesperson told the Daily Mail: 'We have never claimed the interactions in our film were serendipitous but they do reflect how wheelchair users and blind pedestrians navigate our pavements. 

'Delivery robots on pavements present a significant risk to pedestrians and we make no apologies for highlighting it.

'These devices operate without any explicit laws governing their use – and in some cases, without consent from the local authority.'

Starship Technologies, meanwhile, claims it has been actively making improvements to how its robots interact with disabled pedestrians.

In an update posted in April this year, the company says that its robots can now recognise wheelchairs and mobility devices.

When a robot sees a wheelchair, its driving becomes more cautious and an additional layer of human oversight is brought in.

If the robot and wheelchair user meet on a narrow path, the robot will let them know that a human operator is taking over the controls, and the bot should be reversed out of the way.

In the raw footage, the camera operator appears to be surprised that the collision has occurred. Telling the wheelchair user, 'I thought it would have stopped'

Brian Dawson, 59, said a shopping bot rammed into his dog Pippa while they were walking on the pavement near a Co–op branch in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire 

Likewise, the company claims that it has been working to improve safety around blind pedestrians, but admits that programming the bots to spot canes has proved to be a challenge. 

However, this is not the first time that the safety of Starship Technologies delivery robots has been called into question.

Concerns were raised over the robots after one rammed into a German Shepherd in 2023.

Brian Dawson, 59, said a shopping bot rammed into his dog Pippa while they were walking on the pavement near a Co–op branch in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.

Mr Dawson, a Tesco delivery driver, said it went on to ram him in the leg, causing him to kick the droid to remove it 'out of harm's way'. 

This year, Starship's robots were removed from the streets in Sheffield after Uber Eats pulled the plug on a pilot scheme just five months in.

During the short–lived trial, the robots were a constant target for vandalism and were frequently sprayed with graffiti.

Locals also complained that the autonomous vehicles 'got in the way' of pedestrians and carried an alarming number of cameras. 

Starship said that the trial had been paused after coming to a natural end, and insisted that the graffiti was not a contributing factor.  

Starship Technologies has been approached for additional comment.  

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Where did Earth's water come from? Scientists make major breakthrough as they find our planet was completely DRY when it formed

ByWILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

Scientists have made a major breakthrough in the search for the origin of Earth's water.

Earth's oceans are unique in the solar system and essential for life, but experts say that our planet wasn't always so blue.

In fact, researchers from the University of New Mexico say that the Earth may have been completely dry when it formed.

However, in a surprising new suggestion, the scientists claim our planet may have formed all the water we see today directly out of its rocky raw materials.

They suggest that rocky pebbles rained down from the sky during the young planet's early formation, reacting with the hydrogen–rich atmosphere.

Iron oxide in these rocks reacted with hydrogen under extreme heat to create water and pure iron that would go on to form the planet's metal core.

Based on the results of laboratory experiments, the researchers suggest that hundreds of oceans' worth of water could have been created in this way.

Co–author Professor Zachary Sharp, a planetary scientist from the University of New Mexico, says: 'Looking out over a large body of water, it is hard to imagine that that water may have been produced 4.5 billion years ago in a hell–like atmosphere, but it very well may have.'

Researchers say that Earth was once completely dry, but created its own water supply through the reactions between its hot atmosphere and falling 'pebbles' (artist's impression) 

The fact that Earth is abundant in liquid water is hardly a novel observation, but it does raise a perplexing problem for astronomers.

Scientists believe Earth, and all the other planets in the solar system, formed out of a swirling ring of dust and rock called the protoplanetary disc.

Near to the centre of the disc, where the inner planets are today, the radiation from the sun was so powerful that water molecules would have mostly been blasted back into hydrogen and oxygen.

However, since water clearly does exist on Earth today, the puzzle is explaining where it came from.

'Previous ideas about the source of water to Earth rely on an external source, such as comets or meteorites,' says Professor Sharp.

These so–called 'icy pebbles' would have formed far out in the colder reaches of the solar system, and only came inwards towards Earth later on.

However, this would require Earth to be hit by an enormous number of comets in its early formation, which some experts find unlikely.

Instead, Professor Sharp and his co–authors propose that most of Earth's water was made on the planet itself out of rocky minerals and hydrogen.

As Earth formed, rocky silicate pebbles fell through a hot, hydrogen–rich atmosphere. The iron oxide contained inside these rocks reacted with the hydrogen to create water and pure metallic iron, which formed the planet's core (illustrated) 

Many scientists now believe that the planet formed as small, rocky pebbles accumulated to form a larger planetary body – a process known as pebble accretion.

When the planet became big enough, it developed a hot, high–pressure hydrogen atmosphere that could react with iron oxide in the falling pebbles to make water.

To test this theory, the researchers heated rock samples at temperatures between 1,200°C and 1,400°C (2,190–2,550°F) in streams of hydrogen and, for comparison, helium.

In their paper, published in Nature Geoscience, they found that 80 per cent of the iron oxide in the samples held under a stream of hydrogen was converted into metallic iron, producing water within minutes.

No such reaction occurred in the samples held under helium, showing that the hot hydrogen atmosphere is key.

Professor Sharp says: 'We had suspected and hoped that we would produce iron metal and water in our reduction experiments, but we really had no way of knowing how fast and how much.

'We were quite surprised to find that extrapolation of our work suggests that hundreds of oceans' worth of water were likely produced in this way.'

This suggests that the 'pebble rain' could have been critical to the formation of life–giving oceans in Earth's early history.

To test this theory, scientists heated different silicate mineral samples to extreme temperatures and recorded whether they reacted to produce iron and water. Pictured: Rock samples seen under a scanning electron microscope after heating

However, it also has some big consequences for the search for alien life out among the stars.

Scientists think that many rocky planets formed via pebble accretion, meaning they would have the chance to undergo those same water–producing reactions.

Rather than waiting for water to arrive by chance in ice or water–rich minerals from space, a growing planet could simply generate its own oceans directly.

That means many more rocky, Earth–sized planets could have abundant liquid water than had previously been suspected.

'The idea of pebble accretion is still relatively new. It's only been around for the last decade. But it seems to solve many problems that exist with the existing paradigm for planet formation,' says Professor Sharp.

'And now we see that it also can explain why our planet is habitable. By extension, it is reasonable to expect that other Earth–sized bodies circling other stars would also have water and possibly life.'

KEY DISCOVERIES IN HUMANITY'S SEARCH FOR ALIEN LIFE

Discovery of pulsars

British astronomer Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell was the first person to discover a pulsar in 1967 when she spotted a radio pulsar.

Since then other types of pulsars that emit X-rays and gamma rays have also been spotted.

Pulsars are essentially rotating, highly magnetised neutron stars but when they were first discovered it was believed they could have come from aliens.

'Wow!' radio signal

In 1977, an astronomer looking for alien life in the night sky above Ohio spotted a radio signal so powerful that he excitedly wrote 'Wow!' next to his data.

In 1977, an astronomer looking for alien life in the night sky above Ohio spotted a radio signal so powerful that he excitedly wrote 'Wow!' next to his data

The 72-second blast, spotted by Dr Jerry Ehman through a radio telescope, came from Sagittarius but matched no known celestial object.

Conspiracy theorists have since claimed that the 'Wow! signal', which was 30 times stronger than background radiation, was a message from intelligent extraterrestrials.

Fossilised Martian microbes

In 1996 Nasa and the White House made the explosive announcement that the rock contained traces of Martian bugs.

The meteorite, catalogued as Allen Hills (ALH) 84001, crashed onto the frozen wastes of Antarctica 13,000 years ago and was recovered in 1984. 

Photographs were released showing elongated segmented objects that appeared strikingly lifelike.

Photographs were released showing elongated segmented objects that appeared strikingly lifelike (pictured)

However, the excitement did not last long. Other scientists questioned whether the meteorite samples were contaminated. 

They also argued that heat generated when the rock was blasted into space may have created mineral structures that could be mistaken for microfossils. 

Behaviour of Tabby's Star in 2005 

The star, otherwise known as KIC 8462852, is located 1,400 light years away and has baffled astronomers since being discovered in 2015.

It dims at a much faster rate than other stars, which some experts have suggested is a sign of aliens harnessing the energy of a star.

The star, otherwise known as KIC 8462852, is located 1,400 light years away and has baffled astonomers since being discovered in 2015 (artist's impression)

Recent studies have 'eliminated the possibility of an alien megastructure', and instead, suggests that a ring of dust could be causing the strange signals.

Exoplanets in the Goldilocks zone in 2017 

In February 2017 astronomers announced they had spotted a star system with planets that could support life just 39 light years away.

Seven Earth-like planets were discovered orbiting nearby dwarf star 'Trappist-1', and all of them could have water at their surface, one of the key components of life.

Three of the planets have such good conditions, that scientists say life may have already evolved on them. 

Researchers claim that they will know whether or not there is life on any of the planets within a decade, and said: 'This is just the beginning.' 

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