Harvard University cosmologist Avi Loeb, known for suggesting alien life forms could enter the solar system disguised as meteors, is leading the Trump administration's secretive scientific advisory panel on security risks posed by unidentified flying objects, now termed unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).
Panel Requests Pentagon Records
Loeb and his hand-picked committee have already begun investigating the origins of mysterious flying craft. Last month, they requested dozens of videos, images, and documents of reported encounters from the Pentagon, according to the Associated Press. The panel meets in private and will report its findings to the White House, which has released three batches of previously classified UFO material to the public.
Loeb, an Israeli American astrophysicist who formerly chaired Harvard's astronomy department, told the AP he views his appointment as a chance to educate a science-skeptical administration about logical explanations for UAP. "My impression is the government is baffled by not being able to infer the nature of some of these objects," he said. "At a time when science is not so much celebrated, this is an opportunity to actually do good for all sides involved."
Starting Assumption: Human Origin
Loeb stated he begins his work as Donald Trump's chief alien hunter with the assumption that UAP are human-made, approaching the task from a national security perspective. However, critics question his leadership given his unconventional theories, including a 2023 hypothesis that a comet passing Mars was a relic from an alien civilization.
"I don't know what's going to come of this, but we're not going to get any closer to answering these questions with him in charge," said Steve Desch, astrophysics professor at Arizona State University and a longtime Loeb critic.
Panel Composition Raises Eyebrows
Loeb has surrounded himself with like-minded individuals. Panel member Timothy Gallaudet, a retired navy rear admiral, believes UFOs of alien origin have visited Earth. "The nonhuman intelligence that operates them or controls them are absolutely real," he said in April. "We've recovered crashed craft. We don't know if they're extraterrestrial in origin." In 2024, Gallaudet testified to a congressional oversight committee about UAP interactions with humanity and alleged a government cover-up.
Another panelist is Ben Lamm, a billionaire entrepreneur known for efforts to revive extinct animals like the dodo and Tasmanian tiger. Lamm has also sought UFOs using satellites. His unconventional approach aligns with Loeb's decades-long quest for alien life, detailed in his bestselling book Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth.
Controversial Expeditions
Loeb's mission to Papua New Guinea to investigate a 2014 meteor exemplifies his perspective. He theorized the object could be of "extraterrestrial technological origin," but spherules recovered from the ocean floor were unconnected to the meteor, according to other scientists.
Sean Kirkpatrick, a physicist who previously investigated UAP at the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, said Loeb is "not viewed favorably" in the scientific community and lacks national security experience. He suggested the White House is more interested in fringe theories than hard science.
Public Interest Remains High
Despite concerns, the committee may satisfy public curiosity. A CBS News/YouGov poll last month found 80% of respondents believe the government knows more than it reveals about extraterrestrial life, 63% believe life exists on other planets, and over one in five is convinced aliens have already visited Earth.
