Before imagining spacecraft parked behind the Moon, it is best to look carefully at the maps. Because the new UFO files, published by the United States, do exactly what is expected from a similar archive: they spark curiosity, they bring out old lunar photographs, military reports, pilot testimonies, grainy videos, strange objects imaged by infrared sensors. Then, as soon as the volume of suggestion is turned down, something much less cinematic remains: material on phenomena left without a definitive explanation, with often incomplete data and no verifiable evidence of alien technologies.
The publication started on May 8, 2026 through the official website dedicated to UAPs, an acronym that NASA today uses to indicate Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, i.e. unidentified anomalous phenomena. Inside the first release there are documents, images and videos from multiple federal agencies, uploaded on the government portal dedicated to UAPs together with materials linked to NASA, FBI, Department of Energy and AARO, the American office that is responsible for analyzing these cases with an admittedly scientific and data-based approach. The publication will follow a tranche mechanism, with new materials uploaded every few weeks.
The word “UFO” makes a scene, and in fact it continues to do its dirty work very well. It brings with it aliens, secret bases, Nevada skies, bedroom posters, sleepless nights and documentaries with haunting music. “UAP” is much less romantic. It sounds like a file, a federal desk, a file uploaded online after a legal review. And that’s exactly where it’s best to stay: on the cards, on the data, on the captions. Because inside these files there is interesting material, at times curious, in some cases even suggestive. But no evidence of aliens.
When a dot becomes a spaceship
The first misunderstanding arises from desire. We want to believe, precisely. Or at least we like to think that somewhere there is a folder capable of solving everything: we are alone, someone is watching us, governments know, the answers have been hidden for decades. It’s a perfect narrative, because it brings together fear, wonder and distrust in institutions. It also has a huge media advantage: it can be understood in three seconds.
The new UFO files arrive right inside this imagination machine. According to available reconstructions, the first release includes 162 files, with reports, videos, images, NASA documents, FBI materials and government communications. There are Apollo missions, pilots, military sensors, lights, silhouettes, objects described as anomalous, cases left open. A box big enough to start the interpretation festival.
Among the most discussed materials are photographs linked to the Apollo missions, including shots in which dots or lights are highlighted in the lunar sky. In other parts of the archive, videos taken by military sensors appear: light objects on a dark background, irregular shapes, a silhouette described as similar to an American football, footage from areas where US military activity has been intense. They are images that work because they already seem like a story. However, an image that arouses curiosity remains an image to be verified, not a conclusion.
There is also the case of the ellipsoidal metal object, the one that at first glance seems to have come out of an old television special on Area 51. Reading better, the material changes face: it is a graphic reconstruction based on testimonies, not a direct photograph of the object. A witness describes a large shape that appeared from a bright light and disappeared almost immediately. The transition from “someone says he saw” to “here’s the spaceship” is short, comfortable, very human. Also quite slippery.
What the cards say
The most useful part of this publication lies precisely in its coldness. The files collect anomalies, reports, videos, photographs, omitted documents and cases that analysts have not closed. “Unidentified” means this: the origin of the observed phenomenon has not been established with certainty. It may depend on low image quality, distance, observation angle, incomplete data, sensor limitations, atmospheric phenomena, conventional objects seen in unusual conditions, drones, balloons, aircraft, reflections, interpretation errors.
NASA explains this quite clearly in its FAQ on UAPs: many sightings produce very limited data and this makes it difficult to draw scientific conclusions about the nature of the phenomena. When asked whether there is data to support the idea that UAPs are alien technologies, the answer is one word: “No.”
This does not detract from the interest in UFO files. If anything it makes them more serious. An archive like this shows how complicated it is to study something when the evidence arrives broken, partial, captured by tools created for other purposes and often filtered by military contexts. A pilot may see something he doesn’t recognize. A sensor can record an object without gathering enough information to explain it. A lunar photo may contain a visual anomaly. All this deserves analysis. The alien shortcut, on the other hand, closes the discussion just when it should be opened better.
AARO had already placed a heavy stake in 2024, in its historical report. After reviewing decades of cases, the office said it found no verifiable evidence that a UAP sighting represented extraterrestrial activity, nor verifiable evidence of U.S. government or private industry access to technologies of extraterrestrial origin. It’s a less exciting phrase than “they hid everything from us”, of course, but it’s the one that stands up to reading.
Unknown weighs less than alien
The problem lies in the word “unknown”. It’s a powerful word, because it leaves space. And where there is space left, the imagination sits comfortably. A dot becomes a formation. A light becomes an object. An object becomes technology. Technology becomes extraterrestrial civilization. In the middle, steps are often missing.
In science the unknown is not poetic license. It’s a work zone. It means that we need more data, better observations, independent measurements, suitable tools, comparison between different hypotheses. It also means accepting an unspectacular response: sometimes a case remains open because there is little material available. And poor means poor even when the file comes from an American government site.
The issue becomes even more delicate when military images come into play: infrared sensors, night shots, compressed video, long distances and poor visual references can produce strange effects. A normal object may seem to accelerate, a camera movement may seem like an impossible maneuver. In some cases the anomaly is really interesting. In others, it arises from the way we are looking at it.
For this reason, the new files must be read with a double posture: high curiosity, controlled enthusiasm. Between “they’re just balloons” and “the aliens have arrived” there is a much more useful area, made up of analysis, method and patience. It clicks less. Sin.
The show around the cards
Then there’s Trump, and with him the mystery immediately stops being just an archive. It becomes a stage. The declassification directive talks about transparency, alien life, extraterrestrials, UFOs and UAPs. The language is warm, broad, perfect for a notification, a title, a reel, a talk show. The communication machine takes a technical fulfillment and transforms it into an event. It works because the material is already loaded: you don’t even have to push it too hard.
This does not make UFO files useless. On the contrary. They are interesting precisely because they show how difficult it is to seriously study poorly observed phenomena, recorded by instruments designed for other purposes, told by witnesses often in good faith and then uploaded for decades into military, cultural and political archives.
A UAP can be a drone, a balloon, an optical defect, an atmospheric phenomenon, a classified aircraft, a conventional object observed in strange conditions. It may also remain unexplained. For those who want to believe, a dot will always be enough. To understand, unfortunately, you have to read the captions. The United States has opened an archive. The aliens, for now, continue to sign nothing.
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