'Society is ready to know the truth': NASA opens archives and reveals UFO photos
Society would accept the existence of extraterrestrial life and UFO crashes, scientists say (photo: Unsplash)
Former NASA senior official and member of an independent UAP research group Mike Gold spoke about the process of declassifying government archives, anomalous objects in images from the Apollo 17 mission, and whether society is ready for potential contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, according to Space.
What was found in the NASA archives?
Mike Gold emphasized that his approach to the subject of unidentified phenomena remains strictly scientific and objective.
According to him, the current U.S. administration and NASA leadership are taking the UAP issue very seriously and are drawing on materials from their own archives.
What exactly did they find?
Anomalies in archival photos: Recently published documents highlighted an image from the report on the 1972 Apollo 17 Moon landing, in which three points of light forming a triangle can clearly be seen in the lower-right part of the lunar sky.
Removing the stigma: The official publication of such images by the White House and recognition of them as anomalous help scientists and military personnel feel more comfortable documenting and analyzing such cases.
“We must be thorough in collecting information, fearless in making conclusions and open to following the data no matter how mundane or extraordinary the results may be,” Gold said during a hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“As the saying goes, the truth is out there. We just need to be bold enough and brave enough to face it,” he added.
U.S. Navy pilots report encounters with various unidentified aerial phenomena (photo: U.S. Department of Defense/U.S. Navy)
Is society ready?
Gold notes that the release of government documents is an unprecedented step, but the process is gradual due to bureaucratic procedures.
In his view, the term “declassification” is often mistakenly equated with mandatory confirmation of extraterrestrial intelligence, whereas in reality, it is about objectively evaluating any incoming data.
Commenting on the possible consequences of confirming the existence of extraterrestrial life, the expert expressed optimism about the public’s reaction.
“I think the public could deal with the fact that extraterrestrials exist," he said. Polls already indicate that they believe that. I also think the public can deal with the fact that we've had an extraterrestrial crash retrieval program,” Gold said.
At the same time, he added that secondary questions could be more difficult to accept, such as the origins of humanity or alleged abduction phenomena.
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UAP (unidentified anomalous phenomenon) recorded by an infrared sensor on a U.S. military platform in 2024. The Pentagon released the data on May 8, 2026 (photo: U.S. Department of War)
National security and scientific neutrality
In the future, Gold expects further declassifications and proposes including UAP observations in the aviation safety reporting system.
This would significantly expand the amount of data available not only to science but also to national security, since the UAP category also includes unidentified drones operated by potential adversaries.
Summing up his position, the expert called for rejecting extreme interpretations in favor of a detailed examination of the facts.
“I am critical of people who say that this is definitely nothing extraordinary and those who say that this is definitely something extraordinary. We need to go right up the middle of this and take a look at the data. Let the data speak for itself,” Gold concluded.
