Institute of Applied Mathematics (IPM) M.V. Keldysh RAS, Russia, has launched a scientific program that will study unidentified flying objects (UFOs), the IPM said in a message released on Monday.
“We are launching a scientific program to study unidentified flying objects. If you have witnessed any unusual object or phenomenon in the sky. If the appearance, shape, movement of an object or phenomenon seemed strange to you. If you just noticed something interesting and incomprehensible in the sky. Send photo/video materials to our email: ufo@keldysh.ru,” the IPM Telegram channel says.
The institute was also asked to indicate the place, time and circumstances of the observation of objects.
“We’ll figure it out together,” they added.
In June last year, NASA reported that the agency would undertake its own research on UFOs from a scientific point of view. They clarified that UFOs, or “unidentified aerial phenomena,” as they are commonly called in US government departments, refers to sightings of phenomena in the air that cannot be identified as aircraft or known natural phenomena.
The topic of UFOs in February was one of the most popular in Russian media reports. For example, the sky in the vicinity of St. Petersburg was closed twice due to strange flying objects.
On February 13, an object was recorded over Lodeyny Pole that “changed speed and course not according to the laws of physics.” Then the MiG-31 was sent to “get acquainted” with the UFO, but the pilot was unable to inspect the object.
On February 28, a similar activity of an unknown flying object was noted at 160–200 kilometers from St. Petersburg.
Russia’s interest in UFOs dates back to the Soviet era, when a secret 13-year study of UFO reports was conducted by the Ministry of Defense and other agencies. The study concluded that UFOs were real physical objects of unknown origin and nature, and that some of them might pose a threat to national security.
Russia’s current research on UFOs is part of a global trend of increased attention and openness to the phenomenon, as more countries and organizations are releasing their official records and investigations.
