The imminent publication of an intelligence report by the United States on unidentified flying objects has sparked excitement in the United States for the past few weeks. According to a poll conducted before the publication of the UFO report, most Americans believe that intelligent life exists in other worlds.According to the Pew Research Center survey, which is a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington D.C., approximately 65% of Americans believe extraterrestrials exist. 51% of Americans also believe UFO sightings reported on by U.S. military personnel are visits by intelligent aliens.Related: UFO Watch: 8 Times the government searched for flying saucersPew released the survey results before World UFO Day (an informal holiday observed by UFO enthusiasts on July 2), when they were published. According to the World UFO Day website, the date refers to the 1947 UFO crash at Roswell, New Mexico. Although the precise date of Roswell's alleged crash is not known, the U.S. Army released a press release on July 8, 1947 describing the recovery from Roswell of a flying disk. This created an enduring fascination with UFOs and extraterrestrials in America. Later, military representatives identified the mysterious object to be an errant weather balloon.Pew representatives interviewed 10,417 Americans about UFOs and aliens for the survey. The survey found that 76% of those aged 18 to 29 believed in intelligent aliens. This compares to 69% and 58% respectively for people 50-64 and people 30 to 49. Unregardless of their age, 87% of those surveyed rejected the idea that UFOs pose a threat to national safety. However, the question did not ask whether they believed UFOs were ordinary objects or if they believe that the aliens who fly these UFOs have friendly intentions.Six months ago, the Senate Intelligence Committee was promised the long-awaited report by the government on UFOs. The committee requested that an investigation be conducted into unidentified air phenomena (UAPs) by the director of national Intelligence and the secretary of Defense within 180 days of Dec. 21, 2020, the date of the enactment of the Intelligence Authorization Act of the Fiscal Year 2021.Live Science reported that while Pentagon officials released the majority of the report, a portion of it is classified and is not accessible to the public. The report revealed that military aviators had recorded 144 UAP sightings from 2004 to 2021. Of these, only one was able to be identified as a weather balloon.The report didn't describe UAPs as extraterrestrials in origin. Instead, it stated that "there are likely multiple types of UAPs that require different explanations based upon the range of appearances or behaviors described in the existing reporting."Original publication on Live Science
