Michael Gold: Why should NASA continue its work on UAPs?
Mike Gold, a former member of NASA’s Independent Study Team on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (NASA UAP Independent Study Team), lifts the veil on the agency’s secrets.
In this interview with Australian journalist Ross Coulthart on News Nation/Reality Check, Mike Gold discusses the limitations of the Cassini mission, the burden of scientific stigma, and the strategic issues surrounding space exploration.
A NASA mission that is often misunderstood
Mike Gold is an American lawyer with a passion for space, and a NASA mission that is often misunderstood. As a space law specialist, he has established himself as a key figure in bridging the gap between public institutions such as NASA and private companies in the sector.
Throughout his career, he has helped shape the rules governing the growth of commercial space exploration and international collaborations. Today, he is recognised as an influential figure in legal and strategic matters relating to the development of the space industry.
At Bigelow Aerospace, he has overseen the legal and strategic aspects of projects such as the BEAM inflatable module tested aboard the International Space Station, and the Genesis I and Genesis II demonstrators.
Notably, Bigelow Aerospace, founded by Robert Bigelow, established its subsidiary BAASS (Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies) in 2008 in response to a tender from the DIA (Defence Intelligence Agency). This involved a study of UAPs and a request for work on advanced space technologies, as well as the production of various scientific analyses.
The UAP component attracted media attention due to its link with the AAWSAP (Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Programme). The DIA administered this programme until it was officially discontinued in 2012.
Mike Gold played a central role in developing the Artemis Accords at NASA. These set out the principles of international cooperation for lunar exploration and the strategy for commercialising low Earth orbit.
In the interview, the American lawyer explains that the independent study group on UAPs was not responsible for investigating the agency’s historical archives. Its primary role was to determine whether these phenomena warranted a dedicated scientific programme, and to identify the technical resources that NASA could mobilise. In his view, this distinction was largely misunderstood by the public, who were hoping for a thorough reanalysis of the images and videos accumulated over several decades.
Nevertheless, Gold considers the creation of this team to be a significant step forward. For the first time, NASA officially recognised that UFOs could be a legitimate subject for scientific study. In his view, this recognition marks a first step towards normalising the subject within space research.
The former official believes that the NASA report was not intended to provide definitive answers, but rather to pave the way for future research. However, he regrets that no second phase of the study was launched immediately following the report’s publication.
The real obstacle: scientific stigma
During the interview, the legal expert repeatedly emphasised the weight of the stigma that still surrounds UAPs. He claims that many researchers fear that studying these phenomena could harm their academic careers, publications or funding.
He cites the case of physicist Maaneli ‘Max’ Derakhshani in particular, who lost his post after publicly defending the need to study anomalies observed in space archives. Gold states that several members of the NASA working group had received threats from colleagues.
He also revisits the historical influence of the 1952 Robertson Committee, whose recommendations are said to have played a lasting role in fostering a climate of ridicule surrounding UFOs in scientific and media circles.
For Gold, this culture of discrediting is now the main obstacle to research. He believes that asking a scientific question should never be equated with taking an ideological stance.
Reviewing NASA’s archives
The former NASA official is now involved with the Disclosure Foundation, an independent organisation that aims to resume analysing the US space agency’s public archives. The plan is to systematically search for anomalies in photographs from the Apollo missions, the International Space Station, and other space programmes.
Gold explains that this approach will build on the work of astronomer Beatriz Villarroel in particular. He also refers to the famous Apollo 17 photographs showing a triangular object, as well as other images frequently cited by researchers working on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs).
According to Gold, the objective is not to prove an extraterrestrial origin, but rather to identify anomalies that warrant further scientific investigation.
Despite not having access to classified documents, Gold believes that the public archives already contain sufficient data to advance the research. Future commercial lunar missions could also provide an opportunity to test certain hypotheses directly in the field.
Transparency, declassification and international cooperation
The interview also touches on recent declassification campaigns in the United States. Mike Gold believes that, although this process is progressing slowly, it marks a significant shift in the way institutions now deal with the subject.
He notes that several partner countries in the Artemis agreements, including France through the CNES, already have organisations studying unidentified aerospace phenomena. However, he regrets that NASA still does not have a permanent office dedicated to this issue, and he calls for greater international cooperation to pool observations, given that the phenomenon extends well beyond US borders.
In his view, better data sharing would improve our understanding of these phenomena while also strengthening public confidence in scientific institutions.
UAPs: a strategic challenge in the race to the Moon
In the final minutes of the interview, Michael Gold broadens the discussion to include geopolitical issues. Against a backdrop marked by the rapid development of military drones and competition between the United States and China, he believes that UAPs are not merely a scientific matter, but also a matter of national security.
In his view, any anomaly observed near strategic facilities should be thoroughly investigated, regardless of its origin. He also believes that if truly groundbreaking technologies were to emerge, the states capable of understanding them would gain a decisive advantage.
This line of thinking ties in with his vision of the new space race to the Moon. For Gold, lunar infrastructure will be a key factor in the 21st-century geopolitical landscape.
The former official concludes by stating that scientific transparency, international cooperation, and space exploration are three aspects of the same challenge. He believes that those countries which achieve sustainable mastery of the lunar environment will enjoy a significant strategic advantage in the decades to come.