NASA Now Letting Mars Rover Drive Autonomously

NASA

Think self-driving cars are impressive? Try a self-driving rover on a planet over a hundred million miles away.

On Wednesday, NASA announced that its Mars Perseverance rover had pulled off a stunning feat of endurance and self-sufficiency. Over the course of four hours and 24 minutes, the intrepid little robot managed to traverse 1,350.7 feet, or about a quarter mile. It’s the most any Mars explorer has traveled in a single Martian day — or “sol,” in the lingo — and it did it pretty much on its own.

That’s because the rover is largely autonomous. The human scientists choose its destinations, but the bot’s navigation software charts its actual course. 

“Engineers at [Jet Propulsion Laboratory] meticulously plan each day of the rover’s activities on Mars,” NASA explained in a statement. “But once the rover starts driving, it’s on its own and sometimes has to react to unexpected obstacles in the terrain.”

One navigation tool is Enhanced Autonomous Navigation, or ENav, which can scan for potential obstacles and hazards up to 50 feet ahead of the rover, which is farther in advance than previous Mars robots, and automatically plan around them.

“More than 90 percent of Perseverance’s journey has relied on autonomous driving, making it possible to quickly collect a diverse range of samples,” said Hiro Ono, a JPL autonomy researcher and lead author of a new paper published in IEEE Transactions on Field Robotics describing ENav, said in the NASA statement.

A video captured by the rover’s navigation cameras shows its epic journey, which took place on June 19, 2025. The images were taken every 16 feet for the first third of the journey, and every 3.3 for the final two thirds, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and then combined with virtual frames which were created by reconstructing using the rover’s detailed data in a computer environment.

The distance feat comes as the Mars Perseverance rover reaches another milestone. After nearly five years of roaming the Red Planet, it’s now traveled almost 25 miles. With the help of autonomous software, JPL scientists hope that the rover will amble on at least another 37 miles more.

“As humans go to the Moon and even Mars in the future, long-range autonomous driving will become more critical to exploring these worlds,” Ono said.

More Mars: 

• NASA’s Mars Spacecraft Spinning Helplessly After Signal Lost

{ https://futurism.com/category/space }

An Area 51 Worker, an Underground Encounter, and the Question We Can’t Ignore

Some stories don’t sound dramatic because they’re polished or rehearsed.
They sound dramatic because the person telling them never wanted to tell them at all.

This is one of those stories.

What follows is not a claim of proof, nor an attempt to convince. It is a human account—filtered through trusted witnesses—of something that allegedly happened deep beneath Area 51, a place already wrapped in secrecy, silence, and unanswered questions.

A Casual Lunch That Took an Unexpected Turn

The story begins far from restricted airspace and warning signs. It starts at a lunch table in Las Vegas.

Legendary big-wave surfer Garrett McNamara, known for riding record-breaking waves in Nazaré and for the HBO documentary series The 100 Foot Wave, was eating with close friends. Someone brought along another guest—an older man with a long career in aerospace and defense work.

At first, nothing seemed unusual. Until someone, half-jokingly, asked the question people always ask when Area 51 comes up:

“So… did you ever see any aliens?”

Instead of laughing, the man reportedly went pale.

That moment, according to those present, changed the entire mood of the table.

Taken Underground

After some hesitation, the man allegedly explained that during his time working at Area 51, he had been escorted deep underground, into sections far removed from aircraft testing and conventional military research.

What he claimed to have seen there was not technology.

It was a being.

Described as reptilian in appearance, the entity was reportedly restrained, possibly chained, and held in some form of custody. The most unsettling part of the account was not how the being looked—but how it communicated.

The man claimed the entity spoke to him telepathically, directly into his mind.

There were no words spoken aloud. No interpreters. Just a sudden, overwhelming sense of communication that caused immediate panic.

He ran.

According to those retelling the story, the experience affected him so deeply that he later went on long-term medical leave, struggling with trauma ever since.

Importantly, the people sharing this story emphasized something crucial:
they were not seeking attention, publicity, or belief. They were simply repeating what a visibly shaken man told them—reluctantly.

A Second Story: “The Mantis Beings Don’t Want Humans Present”

As unsettling as the first account is, it wasn’t the only one mentioned.

Another individual—allegedly involved in monitoring or transcribing communications—overheard references to activities at S-4, a rumored installation often associated with advanced or non-human technology.

The statement he overheard was chilling in its simplicity:

“The Mantis beings don’t want any humans in the room.”

This detail matters because mantis-like entities appear repeatedly across UFO and abduction lore. They are often described as:

• Tall
• Insectoid
• Highly intelligent
• Authoritative, almost supervisory

In many accounts, they are not experimenters—but overseers.

The implication is uncomfortable:
humans may not be participants, but observers tolerated only when allowed.

Area 51 Was Never Just About Airplanes

To understand why stories like this persist, we have to look backward.

Presidential adviser Harold Malmgren publicly stated that he was briefed on “other world technologies” by Richard Bissell, the CIA official credited with founding Area 51.

This suggests something important:
non-human technology may not have arrived later—it may have been part of the original reason Area 51 existed at all.

Before spy planes, the region was an atomic test site. And nuclear facilities, time and again, appear linked to unexplained aerial phenomena.

That connection raises a disturbing but logical question:
Was Area 51 created to hide aircraft… or to hide something far stranger?

Prisoner, Partner, or Something Else Entirely?

One of the most troubling elements of this story is the idea of a non-human entity being held captive.

It doesn’t sit comfortably—even with those who believe in extraterrestrial contact.

Some attempt to reconcile this contradiction by suggesting:

• The entity may not have been a true biological being, but a controlled avatar or drone
• There may have been conflict or rule violations
• Human–non-human cooperation may exist, but not without tension

Claims by figures like Phil Schneider echo similar themes—underground bases, restricted levels, and violent encounters following misunderstandings or breaches of protocol.

Whether these stories are literal, exaggerated, symbolic, or intentionally distorted remains unknown.

Why Serious People Take These Stories Seriously

What stands out in this account is not certainty—but caution.

The speakers repeatedly emphasize that these ideas should be handled with low conviction:

• Don’t dismiss them outright
• Don’t accept them as fact
• Look for patterns, not conclusions

Physicist Hal Puthoff is mentioned as someone who often hints at extraordinary possibilities without direct confirmation—encouraging researchers to connect dots rather than chase headlines.

This approach closely mirrors the thinking of Jacques Vallée, who argued that the UFO phenomenon may involve consciousness, control systems, and intelligence far stranger than “aliens in spaceships.”

The Fringe Is Where the Future Often Hides

History shows us something uncomfortable:
many ideas that later reshaped science and society began at the fringe.

That doesn’t mean every strange story is true.
But it does mean automatic dismissal can be just as unscientific as blind belief.

This account—of a traumatized worker, an underground encounter, and beings who may not want us present—forces us to confront a deeper question:

What if we are not as informed, as central, or as important as we assume?

No one is asking you to “take this to the bank.”

But perhaps it deserves a place on the table—examined calmly, critically, and without ridicule.

Because if even a fraction of these stories reflect reality, then the mystery isn’t just about aliens.

It’s about how long humanity has been standing at the edge of a much larger truth, unsure whether we’re guests… or something closer to bystanders.

And maybe that’s why these stories refuse to disappear.

{ https://www.latest-ufo-sightings.net/ }

Steven Spielberg drops trailer for UFO thriller 'Disclosure Day' revealing humanity's first contact with aliens

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

Legendary director Steven Spielberg, the visionary behind 'E.T.' and 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind,' has returned to the big screen with his latest project, 'Disclosure Day.' 

The first trailer offers a tantalizing glimpse into a story that promises to shake the world with revelations about alien life, while keeping much of the plot shrouded in mystery.

The star-studded cast includes Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, Eve Hewson and Wyatt Russell.

Clocking in at two minutes and seven seconds, the teaser opens with a haunting question: 'If you found out we weren't alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you?'

Viewers are then thrust into Blunt's world, as she portrays a meteorologist abruptly seized by a mysterious extraterrestrial force during a live broadcast. 

O'Connor plays a determined man on a mission to reveal the truth about alien life to the world.

The trailer is packed with cryptic crop circles, high-speed chases, eerie creatures and chilling hints that humanity may not be alone in the universe.

Adding to the buzz, cryptic billboards appeared in Times Square and Los Angeles on December 10, bearing the message: 'All will be disclosed — Spielberg 06.12.26.'

This is a developing story... More updates to come 

Emily Blunt portrays a meteorologist abruptly seized by a mysterious extraterrestrial force during a live broadcast

Adding to the buzz, cryptic billboards appeared in Times Square and Los Angeles on December 10, bearing the message: 'All will be disclosed — Spielberg 06.12.26'

Spielberg's fascination with UFOs and outer space began in childhood, when his father woke him one night to watch the Perseid meteor shower from a field near their home in Haddon Heights, New Jersey. 

That early wonder inspired his first amateur film project at just 17, a 1964 feature, length sci-fi movie called 'Firelight', which he screened at a local Phoenix theater for family and friends, charging $1 per ticket.'

That film seemed to set the director on path about the unknown, as hist 1977 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' was released, followed by 'E.T' in 1982.

Both films were blockbuster hits, with ET becoming the highest-grossing film of all time for over a decade, surpassing Star Wars.

More recently, in 2005, Spielberg revamped the timeless 'War of the Worlds' that was one of that year's top films.

He has returned to his roots with 'Disclosure Day,' which was based on an his original story, but penned by r David Koepp, who helped write 'Jurassic Park,' 'Jurassic Park: The Lost World,' and 'War of the Worlds.'

'Just watched this chilling clip from Steven Spielberg's new UFO film Disclosure Day (trailer dropped [Tuesday])—Emily Blunt's weather forecast turns into straight-up ALIEN NOISES live on air, a UFO enthusiast posted on X.

'These eerie clicks and guttural sounds are TERRIFYING.' 

The trailer is packed with cryptic crop circles, high-speed chases, eerie creatures and chilling hints that humanity may not be alone in the universe

Steven Spielberg fascination with UFOs and outer space began in childhood, when his father woke him one night to watch the Perseid meteor shower from a field near their home in Haddon Heights, New Jersey

Josh O'Connor plays a determined man on a mission to reveal the truth about alien life to the world

Another fan shared online: 'For a half-century, every new Steven Spielberg release has always felt like a must-see event. 

'Already looking forward to seeing 'Disclosure Day' next year -- and I love that Emily Blunt is playing a Kansas City TV meteorologist. Midwest meteorologists are the best!'

Mysterious movie posters for the film recently appeared under the bright lights of New York's Times Square, showing an eerie eye peering through the silhouette of a bird.

While the image sparked many questions, the trailer appears to answer at least one.

In the newly released clip, there is a shot of bizarrely behaving robins that flying into an apartment where Blunt and O'Connor are sitting.

One social media users posted on X about the billboard, saying: 'This billboard in Times Square is not just promoting another movie. 

'It is signaling the return of the filmmaker who reshaped the medium itself. Spielberg, the most influential director in the history of cinema, the man whose last name is a synonym for Hollywood, is about to debut his first original sci-fi story in years.' 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

UFO expert reveals why you're more likely to see an 'alien' over Christmas

By JORDANA SEAL, NEWS REPORTER

It's not just Santa people should be looking out for next week as experts say you're more likely to see an 'alien' over Christmas. 

In December, the UFO Reporting Centre see a huge surge in UFO sightings with a massive spike on Christmas Day.

Christian Stepien, technical director at the centre in America said the reason for the increased reporting could be due to festive firework and light displays. 

Ron James from the Mutual UFO Network told The Daily Beast: 'We do have a slight uptick twice a year in the summer and around the holidays. 

'There are a few reasons why people might be paying more attention: they might be off work, they're doing family activities and things they don't normally do, so there are more possibilities for people to encounter things. Then, of course, there's always Santa Claus and the reindeer. 

'If there is an uptick, I can understand that because there's a lot of people out during time shopping and doing things. 

'They might be looking up in the air so I can understand it if there is.'

In 2021, there were a whopping 75 sightings reported on December 25. 

File image: In December, the UFO Reporting Centre see a huge surge in UFO sightings with a massive spike on Christmas Day

Accounts of UFOs peaking during the festive period go all the way back to Christmas 1965.

Astronaut Wally Schirra Jr. was aboard Gemini 6 when he spotted an usual 'object'.

At the time, he stated: 'We have an object, looks like a satellite going from north to south, probably in polar orbit. Looks like he might be going to re-enter soon.You just might let me pick up that thing.'

Adding to his report, fellow astronaut Thomas Stafford noted: 'I see a command module and eight smaller modules in front. The pilot of the command module is wearing a red suit.' 

Mission control was sent into hysteria until Wally began to play Jingle Bells on the harmonica and revealed it was all a joke. 

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

Space challenge

The Space Shuttle program was the first full-fledged attempt to create a partially reusable space system. Within its framework, the shuttle itself was reused, as well as a pair of solid-fuel boosters that landed on parachutes. However, due to a number of technical compromises inherent in the program’s architecture and the immaturity of the technologies involved, it cannot be considered a success from an economic point of view. Yes, the shuttles were reused. However, their restoration and preparation for a new launch required much more time and money than had been anticipated during the development phase. As a result, the cost of launching a shuttle far exceeded the cost of launching a conventional rocket.

Launch of the Atlantis shuttle. Source: NASA

Several rocket designs were also developed that involved reusing first-stage engines, which, according to the designers’ concept, were to be dropped by parachute. However, these designs were never implemented. One of the main reasons for this was that the space industry was still predominantly the preserve of countries. With guaranteed government contracts, there was no point in rocket manufacturers reducing the cost of launches.

This situation began to change at the beginning of the 21st century with the emergence of a number of private companies ready to challenge the traditional aerospace giants. One of them was SpaceX. When the company first announced its plans to reuse the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket, most experts were extremely skeptical. Some even openly ridiculed them. But SpaceX was ready to take on the challenge.

From parachutes to jet landing

Initially, SpaceX chose a traditional approach and attempted to implement the idea of returning the stage using parachutes. Attempts were made during the first two Falcon 9 launches. In both cases, the stage disintegrated in the atmosphere upon re-entry. Experts quickly realized that this was a dead end. Even if the stage had survived re-entry, the parachute system had a number of problems, one of which was its considerable weight, and another was that the stage would land in seawater, which could damage the engines.

Grasshopper launch. Source: SpaceX

Instead, a controlled reentry and jet landing scheme was chosen. To develop the necessary technologies, SpaceX built Grasshopper, a vehicle capable of vertical takeoff and landing. Testing began in 2012.

At the same time, engineers tried to obtain as much data as possible about the rocket’s behavior during actual space flight and actively experimented. In 2013, SpaceX succeeded in reactivating the engines of the separated first stage for the first time. And in 2014, the first controlled splashdown in the ocean took place. The company also began preparing autonomous barges, which were to be used for most of the landings. However, even then, most experts still did not believe in SpaceX. It was believed that even if the company recovered the stage, the cost of servicing it would negate the whole idea of reusability.

Historic landing

The first real attempt to land the Falcon 9 stage was made in January 2015. It failed. The next time, the company came extremely close to success, but during contact, the stage tipped over onto the barge and exploded.

First successful landing of Falcon 9 on land. Source: SpaceX

On December 22, SpaceX made another attempt to recover a stage from space. The task was made easier by the fact that this time the landing was not on a barge, but on land. And this time, SpaceX was successful. The stage with the serial number B1019 made a historic landing at Cape Canaveral, proving the viability of the idea.

First successful landing of Falcon 9 on a barge. Source: SpaceX

The final confirmation was to be the landing on a barge. After two more failures, on April 8, 2016, SpaceX finally succeeded in solving the problem. For the first time in history, humanity had a rocket with a reusable first stage.

The Reusable Revolution

However, even after all this, not everyone was ready to believe in success. After all, it is not enough to simply return the stage; it must be possible to launch it into space again, and it must be cheaper than using a new stage.

Falcon 9 launch. Source: SpaceX

This task was accomplished a year later when the stage with the side number B1021 successfully returned from space for the second time. The final step was the commissioning of Falcon 9 Block 5, the “final” modification of the rocket, whose design incorporated the results of all SpaceX experiments. It was destined to become SpaceX’s workhorse, which ultimately changed the landscape of global space exploration. As of December 16, 2025, 523 of the 524 launches of this modification of Falcon 9 were successful.

As for reusing stages, out of 531 attempts, SpaceX failed to recover the stage in only six cases. This number is higher than the total number of Falcon 9 launches because its first stages are also used in Falcon Heavy launches.

Falcon 9 first stage landing. Source: SpaceX

Over the years, SpaceX has raised the bar for the maximum number of launches for first stages several times. Initially, it was 10 launches, then 20, and now 40. At the time of writing, the record was held by stage B1067. It has flown into space 32 times.

Thanks to a combination of unprecedented reliability and lower prices than its competitors, reusability has allowed SpaceX to capture a huge share of the global launch market. Falcon 9 launches are now effectively produced on an assembly line basis. It is launched more often than all other rockets combined.

The first stage of the New Glenn rocket after landing on a barge. Source: Blue Origin

Only in 2025 did several companies come close to repeating SpaceX’s success. Blue Origin has achieved the most significant results so far. On its second attempt, it managed to land the New Glenn rocket stage on a barge. China’s Landspace could have gone down in history as the third company to build a reusable rocket. However, the first attempt to land the Zhuque-3 stage was unsuccessful. Next in line are Long March 8, built by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, and Neutron from Rocket Lab.

SpaceX, in turn, is preparing to take the next step and create the first fully reusable space system in history. In recent years, the company has been actively testing its giant Starship rocket. If all goes well, its first landing could take place as early as 2026.

The fourth launch of Starship. Source: SpaceX

Whatever the future holds for all these rockets, one thing is certain: space exploration will never be the same again. And the beginning of this new path was laid ten years ago, when Falcon 9 managed to do what was previously considered impossible.

• Posted in Articles, Questions 

{https://universemagazine.com/en/news-en/science-en/ }

The incredible true story of the Men In Black: Harry saw six aircraft over the bay. Then the suits came out of shadows... and the bodies followed

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

Before the movies, before the comic books, and before Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith brought their suits to the big screen, the Men in Black were known only in whispers.

The legend of these shadowy figures - men in dark suits who threatened people who reported UFO sightings - was born in 1947, when a Washington state logger claimed he saw six flying orbs over Puget Sound.

On June 21, Tacoma resident Harold Dahl was out on the bay with his son, their dog and two crewmembers when he claimed to have spotted six massive, metallic, doughnut-shaped aircraft - each about 100ft across and gliding roughly 2,000ft overhead.

Dahl later described the sighting to an undercover intelligence agent, someone he believed was simply his supervisor.

The very next morning, a man in a black suit appeared at Dahl's home and invited him to breakfast, delivering a warning that would echo through UFO lore for generations.

Dahl's account was printed in the Tacoma Times, and months later, the 29-year-old journalist who covered it was dead under mysterious circumstances.

The story, now known as the Maury Island incident, is detailed in the newly released book Catastrophic Disclosure: The Deep State, Aliens, and the Truth, which argues Dahl's may be one of the first 'modern' UFO sightings.

'This might mark the first appearance of mysterious figures, either from the military or what has become known as the "men in black,"' authors Kent Heckenlively JD and Michael Mazzola wrote. 

A new book has detailed the origins of the legendary Men in Black, which started in 1947 when a man reported seeing six objects flying over Washington state. Pictured is an artist impression of what the man said he saw

On June 21, Tacoma resident Harold Dahl (pictured) was out on the bay with his son, their dog and two crewmembers when he spotted six massive, metallic, doughnut-shaped aircraft - each about 100ft across and gliding roughly 2,000ft overhead

The summer of 1947 became a landmark period for UFO sightings, from Ken Arnold's mysterious 'flying discs' near Mt Rainier to the infamous Roswell incident in New Mexico. 

Across the nation, Americans were captivated by reports of objects that defied explanation, and the federal government was paying close attention. 

But it was Dahl's encounter with the man in the black suit that cemented one of the most enduring legends in UFO history.

According to Heckenlively and Mazzola, such figures - whether military, intelligence or something altogether stranger - appeared in response to sightings like Dahl's, warning witnesses to keep quiet.

Dahl claimed he first saw five of the objects circling while a sixth appeared to be in distress. The craft made no sound, Dahl said, and he saw no propellers, motors or visible means of propulsion.

'A dull explosion followed, and the troubled craft ejected a stream of light metal that looked like thousands of newspapers, then heavier, darker rock, almost like lava,' the authors wrote.

Dahl reported that the damaged craft drifted out over the Pacific Ocean and vanished. He said the falling debris wrecked his boat, killed his dog and injured his son. 

He relayed everything to his supervisor, Fred Crisman, who, the authors note, was actually a former intelligence agent with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), precursor to the CIA. It is not known how long Crisman and Dahl had been working at the same company.

Before the movies, before the comic books, and before Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith brought them to the big screen, the Men in Black were known only in whispers

Dahl's story appeared in the Tacoma Times the next day. The reporter, Paul Luntz, was said to have also been visited by two men in black suits who threatened him to stop writing about the incident

The next morning, Dahl claimed, a man in a black suit knocked on his door and escorted him to a local diner.

'This was not as unusual as it might seem,' the authors explained. 'Many lumber buyers visited men in Dahl's trade to negotiate for salvaged logs.'

Over breakfast, the mysterious visitor calmly repeated Dahl's entire story back to him, then added: 'I know a great deal more about this experience of yours than you will want to believe.'

According to the book, he leaned in and warned Dahl never to speak of the sighting again, insisting the incident 'never happened' and hinting that if Dahl valued his family's safety, he would remain silent.

The story ran in the Tacoma Times the next day, reported by journalist Paul Lantz, who printed Dahl's description of the objects and confirmed the logger had alerted Crisman. 

Reports have suggested that Crisman shared the story with the news outlet.

Reports later suggested Lantz and his wife were also visited by two men in black suits after he published the article.

In a 2014 book, The Maury Island UFO Incident, authors Charlette LeFevre and Philip Lipson quote Lantz's granddaughter: 'My grandmother went into the kitchen to cook while they talked to Paul in the living room.

'She tried to listen. She said they were basically threatening Paul to stop… but Paul was bold and not afraid of them.'

What is now known as the Maury Island incident happened over Puget Sound (pictured)

A few months later, in August, Lantz published another startling report suggesting an Army plane crash in Kelso may have been 'sabotage.'

'The mystery of the 'Flying Saucers' soared into prominence again,' he wrote, after an informant claimed the aircraft was destroyed to prevent flying-disc fragments from reaching Hamilton Field for analysis.

The informant alleged the debris came from 'one of the mysterious platters' that had fallen near Maury Island. 

Lantz died on January 10, 1948. Some accounts stated his cause of death was 'a short, unspecific illness,' while his death certificate reportedly cited meningitis. 

His death was described by family as sudden and unexpected.

Dahl was later interrogated by the Seattle FBI, which publicly declared the story a hoax, though internal accounts painted a different picture.

Reports claim FBI Director J Edgar Hoover wrote: 'Please be advised that Dahl did not admit… his story was a hoax, but only stated that if questioned by authorities, he was going to say it was a hoax because he did not want further trouble in the matter.'

To this day, no one has definitively explained what Dahl saw on Maury Island, why an intelligence agent posed as his supervisor or why a man in a black suit knew details of the incident before Dahl ever repeated them. 

The FBI closed the case, the debris vanished, and the people closest to the story either recanted under pressure or never spoke about it again.

But in the years that followed, dozens of witnesses across the country reported their own encounters with men in black suits who arrived without warning, knew too much and left no trace.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

EXCLUSIVE - I was dead for 105 minutes and learned exactly how you get into heaven... then Jesus spoke six words into my mind and sent me back

A man who was clinically dead for an astonishing 105 minutes has said his experience in heaven gave him a mission: sharing what he learned about the afterlife with the world.

Dean Braxton, 68, told the Daily Mail how a simple hospital procedure to remove kidney stones in 2006 went horribly wrong, causing a massive infection that stopped his heart.

Doctors failed to resuscitate the Christian minister from Washington state, and had already begun filling out the paperwork before sending his body to the morgue, when he miraculously woke up.

Braxton said hospital staff dubbed him the 'Miracle Man' after doctors reported he suffered no brain damage and returned to perfect health, despite his body being clinically dead for one hour and 45 minutes.

Normally, the human brain begins to experience irreversible damage within five to 10 minutes of being without oxygen, highlighting the extraordinary nature of his survival.

Braxton said he was not afraid during his near-death experience (NDE), rather he felt overwhelming joy, peace and comfort - a revelation that transformed his outlook on life and gave him an 'eternal perspective.'

The Washingtonian said he was taken into another realm he called heaven, where he was met by dead relatives, angels, Jesus and God.

'It's not your time, go back,' Braxton recounted about what Jesus told him before sending him back to Earth. That moment, as he remembers it, has inspired his mission to help others encounter God themselves.

Dean Braxton (pictured) was clinically dead for 105 minutes and claims he journeyed into the afterlife

Braxton, a Christian minister, has been talking about his experience with audiences around the world for 20 years

Once in this realm, the minister said that everything he encountered, which he referred to as 'creations,' made him feel welcomed - even the trees and animals.

'I felt like everything was alive, nothing was dead - and I don't mean just alive in a sense of like grass that I have in my front yard. I mean, they were alive where they were intelligent,' Braxton told the Daily Mail.

'It seemed like everything had an attitude - a good attitude, not a bad one - and they were glad I showed up.'

The pastor went on to say he was greeted by his family members who had already passed away, led by his grandmother, Mary.

This welcome eventually extended to generations of Braxton's ancestors, including those he had never met during his lifetime.

Braxton said that this encounter was life-changing and revealed how important family is to God. He said it showed him that individual families matter just as deeply as the broader 'family of God.'

'I didn't know that until I got there, how important it was. So that really changed my outlook upon my own family,' Braxton said.

He added that his wife, Marilyn Braxton, had to adjust to an entirely new husband after his NDE.

Braxton said his wife, Marilyn Braxton (right), had to adjust to an entirely new husband after his near-death experience changed his perspective on life

Braxton said all of his family members who had previously passed away greeted him in heaven

(Stock Image) 

While the people Braxton said he encountered in heaven could speak verbally, he claimed the primary way those in the afterlife communicated was thought-to-thought.

Most often, he said this took the form of instant pictures rather than words. Braxton told the Daily Mail that if someone wanted to talk about a table, for example, they would directly transmit the complete picture of that table into his mind.

He said this concept was ideal because it gave the fullness of the thought instantly. There were no misunderstandings and no need for lengthy explanations, making every conversation deeply intimate, even if the meeting was brief.

Eventually, Braxton said he approached what he called 'the edge of heaven,' a place he couldn't physically describe but believed would mean leaving the realm of Earthly reality if he crossed that barrier.

Braxton (pictured) has been called the 'Miracle Man' after suffering no brain injuries despite being dead for one hour and 45 minutes

After reaching that point, Braxton detailed how Jesus communicated with him and said, 'It's not your time. Go back.'

As many near-death experiencers have expressed in the past, Braxton said he didn't want to leave heaven, but was told by Jesus three separate times that it was time to return to Earth.

The pastor said he still remembers viewing his lifeless body and the family and nurses gathered around him in the hospital before reentering the living world.

'I just remember that my heart started beating again, and the doctors ran over, and they started doing all their stuff,' Braxton told the Daily Mail. 'They didn't expect me to live even after I came back.'

Braxton explained that his NDE did not change his physical body, but did transform his entire outlook on the world and the message he spreads through his ministry.

'I came back a different person, and my wife had to adjust because she had a whole different husband,' he said.

Before he experienced near-death, Braxton said he made decisions based on what felt good or practical in the moment. After, however, he asks: 'How does this impact eternity?'

He realized that almost everything on Earth - possessions, achievements, even many problems - will eventually deteriorate or fall apart, so he has invested his time and energy in things that last forever, especially relationships with people and helping them connect with God.

'I want people to meet Jesus really badly because of my encounter with him,' Braxton said. 'Sometimes I'll go to a place, and people come, and I say, "It's not about me, it's about your encounter with God. You're here, he's here, that's all that matters."

'My words don't get you in, Jesus does.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

The puzzled voice of a US Air Force pilot reporting his terrifyingly close call with a UFO has been heard for the first time.

Traveling at supersonic speed, the unknown craft came within a 10 feet of the pilot's wing, who was conducting a secret mission over California.

The pilot, who identified as 'Troy 21,' told local air traffic control (ATC) in Los Angeles: 'This is going to sound weird, but I just had something pass underneath my wing, maybe a football-sized object right underneath my wing.'

During the September 17, 2024 incident, ATC is heard asking Troy 21 if he thought the object might have been a drone, but the stunned pilot couldn't tell.

Troy 21 replied that his sensor operator was looking for the UFO on the plane's cameras, adding that it was a 'dark gray cylindrical object' no bigger than a football.

The pilot quickly informed ATC that they had spotted the UFO again about 60 miles from where it first buzzed Troy 21's plane.

Later in the recording, another air traffic controller in Los Angeles can be heard on the radio dismissing the incident, saying that 'there was UFO reported here, but that's all taken care of now. So you don't have to worry about it... it's gone.'

Former FBI agent Ben Hansen told NewsNation the mysterious object must have be traveling at Mach 2, or twice the speed of sound, to get so far away so fast.

The strange object then moved off at high speed and was seen minutes later 60 miles away from the aircraft

The Air Force pilot was not able to tell if the object was a drone, but UFO expert and former FBI agent Ben Hansen said the chances of that were unlikely

'You hear them call out what they believe they're tracking this object, about 60 miles away, because they've got their own airborne radar,' Hansen told NewsNation.

'If true, within the two minutes when they called back, that would place this object going about Mach 2... That would absolutely, in my opinion, eliminate any prosaic explanation of a drone,' Hansen added.

Hansen was able to secure a copy of the recording after it was not released to the public.

According to the UFO expert, the air traffic controller involved reported the incident to the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC).

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recognizes NUFORC as one of the official channels pilots are able to use to make reports about UFOs and other strange sightings.

Hansen noted that this pilot and his crew were likely carrying out a drug interdiction mission for the US Department of Homeland Security when they encountered the tiny UFO.

He added that their aircraft, a Beechcraft 350C, has been converted by the government to house a sophisticated radar system.

Typically it can spot drug traffickers and other illegal activity, but during this flight, the military crew caught a glimpse of an unknown object around 2:30pm on a clear day.

'It's broad daylight. They got a good look at this thing, a cylindrical dark object that passes underneath their wing so close,' Hansen said.

'There's big problems with that happening in controlled airspace like they were and they weren't notified of any air traffic that was supposed to be in the area,' the former FBI special agent continued.

The host of UFO Witness, Ben Hansen, said the 2024 UFO report raises serious concerns since the object passed so close to a manned airplane

Troy 21's plane had advanced radar that reportedly tracked the UFO up to 60 miles away, but air traffic controllers later said there was nothing else to worry about and that the object was now 'gone'

Hansen noted that his team has not spoken to the crew of the aircraft at this point.

He added that because of the secret nature of their flight, the pilot and crew wouldn't be able to say much about the September 17 encounter.

Hansen's computer simulation seen during his interview is based completely on the audio recording of the incident.

The host of 'UFO Witness' on Discovery+ admitted that the object could have passed under the wing from a different direction than the one seen in the video, but this was the best guess of what happened.

'We do know their description is pretty exact,' Hansen added.

As for the possibility of the UFO being a drone, Hansen noted that military drones and some hobby drones can go as high as 20,000 feet (where this encounter took place) but he believes the chances it was drone are unlikely.

The UFO was spotted near what Hansen calls a 'military operations area,' but the object was not in that zone, meaning anyone flying a commercial drone would have had to report their activity.

The incident is one of the latest close encounters that have many Americans believing alien life has been visiting Earth for decades.

Now, some government officials are looking to expose whatever is allegedly being hidden, including Florida congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna.

After a classified meeting with Air Force whistleblowers, she revealed to The Grant Mitt Podcast this week that she 'absolutely believes' that the UFOs they and others have described are 'of non-human origin.'

Rep. Luna and others believe the Trump administration will soon declassify what the US government knows about UFOs and alien encounters.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

• READ MORE: Joe Rogan uses three haunting words to predict Americans' reaction to UFO disclosure

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

The pilot of a private jet was left stunned after spotting a small, silver cylinder hovering near his wing thousands of feet above Rhode Island.

A newly released video of the live air traffic control (ATC) broadcast captures the tense moment, with the pilot telling the ground team, 'It appears to be standing still,' as the mysterious object floated beside him.

The object hovered near the wing tip, briefly pacing the aircraft, before drifting out of view.

ATC confirmed there were no other reports in the area and asked whether the object could have been a drone or a balloon.

Flying a Piper PA-32RT-300T Turbo Lance II, which seats up to five passengers, the pilot said he could see no attachments on the object and described it as 'astonishing' while maintaining an altitude of roughly 3,500 feet.

Other pilots in the region chimed in over the radio, with one remarking, 'I want to believe him,' while ATC joked, 'Good luck with the aliens.'

No official FAA or NTSB report has been made public, a common occurrence for unexplained aerial phenomena unless they pose a direct hazard.

The video was uploaded to the YouTube channel VASAviation, run by a corporate pilot and certified flight instructor from Spain, which regularly posts ATC frequency conversations. 

The pilot of a private jet was left stunned after spotting a small, silver cylinder hovering near his wing thousands of feet above Rhode Island (STOCK)

The clip, which has been viewed more than 14,000 times, was posted about a month ago, indicating that the sighting likely occurred around that time.

Recently, the broadcast made its way to social media, appearing on X this week, where it has quickly gone viral.

While the pilot did not believe the object was a balloon, some experts offered alternative explanations. 

Mick West, a British-American science writer and conspiracy theory investigator, suggested that a weather balloon was the most plausible scenario.

Other social media users speculated that it could have been a military test of new technology. 

'UFOs are a brilliant cover,' one X user commented, while another questioned, 'Do you think they'd really test it on a commercial flight?' 

Michael Harrison added, 'Truthfully? Yeah, I do. It also has the benefit of keeping the UFO narrative fresh.'

Aviation enthusiast Anthony Dohrmann, founder and CEO of AI-powered virtual caregiver company Electronic Caregiver, offered a more grounded perspective. 

A newly released video of the live air traffic control (ATC) broadcast captures the tense moment, with the pilot telling the ground team, 'It appears to be standing still,' as the mysterious object floated beside him. Pictured is flight data of the plane

Flying a Piper PA-32RT-300T Turbo Lance II (STOCK), which seats up to five passengers, the pilot said he could see no attachments on the object and described it as 'astonishing' while maintaining an altitude of roughly 3,500 feet

He suggested that the object could have been a weather balloon, which are often launched at night and carry cylindrical payloads.

'[They] have a kind of translucent material that can reflect city lights or catch sunlight higher up, making it hard to judge their true altitude,' Dohrmann explained. 

He added that such balloons can appear to hover or rise slowly, sometimes at about 1,000 feet per minute, and noted that many are launched in nearby Massachusetts.

Dohrmann also pointed out that amateur hobbyists frequently experiment with balloons and other small devices at lower altitudes. 

Read More

• The incredible true story of the Men In Black: Harry saw six aircraft over the bay. Then the suits came out of shadows... and the bodies followed 

'They're supposed to go in a certain direction, but things don't always work like they're supposed to,' he said.

The broadcast incident comes just months after a veteran US fighter pilot broke his silence about a near-collision with a UFO that defied the laws of physics and left the Air Force in stunned disbelief.

Major Ryan Bodenheimer, a retired F-15 and F-16 combat pilot, revealed in a YouTube video that one of the 'wildest experiences' of his career involved a close encounter with a rectangle-shaped UFO as he flew with his squadron over southern Wyoming.

Bodenheimer, who served in the Air Force for 13 years, said the large craft suddenly appeared out of nowhere during a training mission and looked to be on a collision course with his plane.

'Then I realized we weren't going to hit, and all of a sudden it came more into view, and it was a rectangular shape. This was like essentially a perfect rectangle,' Bodenheimer revealed in his video on June 8.

The military veteran described the UFO as being 30 to 50 feet in height and appearing to be glowing around the edges of its bright white body as it flew alongside the Thunderbirds, the Air Force's elite aerobatic demonstration squadron.

Bodenheimer added that this craft had no visible vapor trail coming from an engine, no radar signal, and was traveling at approximately 400 knots (460 miles per hour).

'It really was defying any type of aeronautical laws that I've learned,' Bodenheimer said.

Major Ryan Bodenheimer (pictured) spent 13 years flying F-15s and F-16s for the US Air Force and revealed this summer that he had two encounters with unexplainable UFOs over the US

Bodenheimer then revealed that his report to air traffic control left officials in 'dead silence' before the entire matter was apparently dismissed as an 'anomalous object.'

The strange rectangle UFO got so close to Bodenheimer's F-16 Falcon at 30,000 feet in the air that he said he could make out every detail of the craft before it eventually flew off and was never seen again.

When air traffic controllers in Denver asked Bodenheimer if he could give them any more details about the UFO, he revealed that it had a cream-colored interior that became transparent or had a hole in its center.

'I know it sounds like I'm talking about a delicious pastry, but this was the wildest experience I've ever had,' the fighter pilot joked.

The only evidence of Bodenheimer's sighting was a report made by air traffic control saying that an object had been spotted in the area where the Thunderbirds were training that day, but he never heard from anyone about the incident again.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

Geoscientists Find Explanation for Mysterious Structures within Earth’s Mantle

For decades, scientists have been baffled by two enormous structures buried deep inside Earth. These anomalies may retain geochemical signatures distinct from the surrounding mantle. Yet, their origin remains enigmatic. Rutgers University geodynamicist Yoshinori Miyazaki and colleagues offer a striking explanation for these anomalies and their role in shaping Earth’s ability to support life.

The illustration shows a cutaway revealing the interior of early Earth with a hot, melted layer above the boundary between the core and mantle.

Image credit: Yoshinori Miyazaki / Rutgers University.

The two enigmatic structures, known as large low-shear-velocity provinces and ultra-low-velocity zones, sit at the boundary between Earth’s mantle and its core, nearly 2,900 km (1,800 miles) beneath the surface.

Large low-shear-velocity provinces are continent-sized blobs of dense, hot rock.

One sits beneath Africa; the other is perched under the Pacific Ocean.

Ultra-low velocity zones are thin, molten patches clinging to the core like lava puddles.

Both types of structures slow seismic waves dramatically, signaling unusual composition.

“These are not random oddities,” said Dr. Miyazaki, co-author of a paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

“They are fingerprints of Earth’s earliest history.”

“If we can understand why they exist, we can understand how our planet formed and why it became habitable.”

“Billions of years ago, Earth was covered by a global ocean of magma.”

“As it cooled, scientists expected the mantle to form distinct chemical layers, similar to frozen juice separating into sugary concentrate and watery ice.”

“But seismic studies show no such strong layering. Instead, large-low shear velocity provinces and ultra-low velocity zones form irregular piles at the planet’s base.”

“That contradiction was the starting point. If we start from the magma ocean and do the calculations, we don’t get what we see in Earth’s mantle today. Something was missing.”

The team’s model suggests that over billions of years, elements such as silicon and magnesium leaked from the core into the mantle, mixing with it and preventing strong chemical layering.

This infusion could explain the strange composition of large low-shear-velocity provinces and ultra-low-velocity zones, which can be seen as solidified remnants of what the scientists termed a basal magma ocean contaminated by core material.

“What we proposed was that it might be coming from material leaking out from the core,” Dr. Miyazaki said.

“If you add the core component, it could explain what we see right now.”

“The discovery is about more than deep-Earth chemistry.”

“Core-mantle interactions may have influenced how Earth cooled, how volcanic activity unfolded and even how the atmosphere evolved.”

“That could help explain why Earth has oceans and life, while Venus is a scorching greenhouse and Mars is a frozen desert.”

“Earth has water, life and a relatively stable atmosphere.”

“Venus’ atmosphere is 100 times thicker than Earth’s and is mostly carbon dioxide, and Mars has a very thin atmosphere.”

“We don’t fully understand why that is. But what happens inside a planet, that is, how it cools, how its layers evolve, could be a big part of the answer.”

By integrating seismic data, mineral physics and geodynamic modeling, the authors reconceived large low-shear velocity provinces and ultra-low-velocity zones as vital clues to Earth’s formative processes.

The structures may even feed volcanic hotspots such as Hawaii and Iceland, linking the deep Earth to its surface.

“This work is a great example of how combining planetary science, geodynamics and mineral physics can help us solve some of Earth’s oldest mysteries,” said study co-author Dr. Jie Deng, a researcher at Princeton University.

“The idea that the deep mantle could still carry the chemical memory of early core–mantle interactions opens up new ways to understand Earth’s unique evolution.”

“Each new piece of evidence helps fill in gaps in Earth’s early history, turning scattered clues into a clearer picture of its evolution.”

“Even with very few clues, we’re starting to build a story that makes sense,” Dr. Miyazaki said.

• J. Deng et al. 2025. Deep mantle heterogeneities formed through a basal magma ocean contaminated by core exsolution. Nat. Geosci 18, 1056-1062; doi: 10.1038/s41561-025-01797-y

{ https://www.sci.news/ }