Command Palette

Search for a command to run...

NAS Condon Review

UAP Task Force

National Academy of Sciences panel assessment that endorsed the Colorado UFO Project findings and recommended against further dedicated UFO research

  Origins and Context

In late 1968, the Air Force asked the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to provide an independent assessment of the University of Colorado's UFO study1. A distinguished panel chaired by Yale astronomer Dr. Gerald M. Clemence conducted a six-week review of the Condon Report's scope, methodology, and findings2.

  Panel Structure

The eleven-member panel included experts in physics, astronomy, psychology, and other relevant fields:

  • Dr. Gerald M. Clemence (Chairman) - Yale University
  • Dr. H. R. Crane - University of Michigan
  • Dr. David M. Dennison - University of Michigan
  • Dr. Wallace O. Fenn - University of Rochester
  • Dr. H. Keffer Hartline - Rockefeller University
  • Dr. E. R. Hilgard - Stanford University
  • Dr. Mark Kac - Rockefeller University
  • Dr. Francis W. Reichelderfer - Former head of U.S. Weather Bureau
  • Dr. William W. Rubey - University of California, Los Angeles
  • Dr. C. D. Shane - Lick Observatory
  • Dr. Oswald G. Villard Jr. - Stanford University

  Key Findings

The panel unanimously endorsed the methodology and conclusions of the Condon Report3. Their key determinations included:

  1. The study's scope was adequate for a scientific investigation of UFO phenomena
  2. The methodology and approach followed accepted scientific standards
  3. The conclusions were warranted by the evidence presented
  4. No high priority should be given to UFO research based on data from the previous two decades
  5. The extraterrestrial hypothesis was deemed the least likely explanation for UFO reports

  Historical Impact

The NAS review provided crucial scientific legitimacy to the Condon Report's conclusions4. This endorsement directly influenced the Air Force's decision to terminate Project Blue Book in December 1969, ending the military's official UFO investigations5. The review's stance that UFO studies were unlikely to advance science became a cornerstone of mainstream scientific skepticism toward UFO research.

  References

  1. "Review of the University of Colorado Report on Unidentified Flying Objects" NAS Report ↩

  2. Clark, J. "The UFO Encyclopedia: The Phenomenon from the Beginning" Book ↩

  3. Swords, M.D. & Powell, R. "UFOs and Government: A Historical Inquiry" Book ↩

  4. "U.F.O. Finding: No Visits From Afar" New York Times Article ↩

  5. Jacobs, D.M. "The UFO Controversy in America" Book ↩

Published on January 8, 1969

2 min read