Frank: NASA studying UFOs won’t prove alien life exists. It should do it anyway.

NASA announced last month that its new panel to study unidentified aerial phenomena — i.e. UFOs — was staffed up and ready to get working. The panel is impressive, including planetary scientists, astrophysicists, experts from the Federal Aviation Administration, data scientists and a celebrated astronaut. I have worked with a few of these scientists, and the group represents a stellar collection (pun intended) of smart, creative people with high scientific integrity. But what, exactly, are these scientists supposed to be doing in the contentious domain of UFOs? More importantly, is this really something that NASA should give time and money, potentially risking the agency’s credibility?