European Space Agency ESA Introduces Point of Contact for Enquiries on UFOs and UAP

Wuerzburg (Germany) – The European Space Agency (ESA) has clarified its position on unidentified flying objects and anomalous phenomena (UFOs / UAP) and has introduced an internal point of contact for UFO-related inquiries from the public and the media.

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For years, Philippe Ailleris, who works at ESA as Senior Project Controller of the Earth Observation Sentinel projects, has also been active in the scientific investigation of UFO phenomena.

Last week, Ailleris presented—via online connection from ESA’s spaceport in Kourou—at the SETI & UAP Conference of the “Interdisciplinary Research Center for Extraterrestrics” (IFEX) at the University of Wuerzburg, the first internally formulated stance and perspective of ESA on the subject of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP).

“For ESA, UAP are not part of our mandate or our programs,” said Ailleris. “However, questions from the public are unavoidable, particularly after visible space events such as rocket launches, satellite reentries, the deployment of satellite constellations (like the Starlink trains), or the flyby of the International Space Station ISS. Many of the reported sightings can be explained by such activities, which of course fall within ESA’s area of responsibility in space safety and monitoring.”

At the same time, however, UAP remain a subject of public curiosity, often linked to the larger question of extraterrestrial life, Ailleris continued. “Here ESA’s position is clear: while UAP are not part of our formal mandate, we take the topic seriously. Our task is to respond consistently, objectively, and responsibly, guided by transparency, rigorous science, and the same spirit of exploration that drives our missions to Mars, to comets, icy moons, and exoplanets.”

In this way, ESA could and would “constructively engage with public curiosity, strengthen preparedness, and reaffirm its role as a trusted and respected scientific institution.”

As Ailleris further explained, there will continue to be neither a dedicated UAP research or reporting office nor research funds for UAP at ESA. Nevertheless, he himself will in future be available as the internal ESA contact point for UAP inquiries, ensuring that questions from the public and media are handled in a consistent and coordinated manner.

As recently as last May, current ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher explained ESA’s handling of UFO questions in response to a viewer’s question from journalist Harald Havas during an ORF radio interview:

“UFOs are of course always something that is very current and that always generates a lot of discussion. To be honest, we don’t work very much on it. But maybe we should address it more strongly. (…) also personally receive emails and letters written about sightings and the like. (…) But it is a very interesting and current topic, and something that probably deserves more attention, or where perhaps one could invest a bit more in order to really go deeper into it.” (…read more)

The latest positioning of ESA now follows years of initiatives by Ailleris and colleagues in the exchange between interested researchers and the space agency, as well as an informal meeting between ESA representatives and staff of IFEX this past June.

The “Interdisciplinary Research Center for Extraterrestrics” (IFEX) at the University of Wuerzburg is Germany’s first and so far only academic research center where, alongside space technology, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is pursued and unidentified flying objects and anomalous phenomena (UFOs/UAP) are scientifically studied. Under the direction of Professor Hakan Kayal, civilian UFO researchers, specialist journalists, and scientists from international universities are brought together in a network to study UFOs—now more often referred to as UAP—scientifically and with an open-ended approach.

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Andreas Müller

Fachjournalist Anomalistik | Autor | Publizist