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The retired NASA astronaut was Mark Kelly. In a September 18, 2024 GZERO World interview, Kelly—then a Democratic U.S. senator from Arizona—said Congress should investigate credible reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and provide more resources for studying them.

He did not say he had seen extraterrestrial spacecraft, present new evidence of aliens, or confirm claims that the U.S. government possesses nonhuman technology. Kelly’s point was narrower: testimony from military pilots was serious enough to warrant a better investigation.

What Mark Kelly actually said

Asked about UFO claims, Kelly said he had heard what he considered “compelling testimony” from Navy fighter pilots. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he argued that Congress had an obligation to investigate UAP reports and devote more resources to understanding them.

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The interview, published by GZERO on September 18, 2024, does not show Kelly claiming a personal sighting of an impossible craft. He also expressed skepticism that intelligent extraterrestrial life had visited Earth, while leaving the broader question open.

That distinction matters. “Compelling” was Kelly’s characterization of testimony; it was not a scientific finding or a confirmation that the testimony’s most extraordinary interpretations were correct.

Who is Mark Kelly?

Kelly is a former NASA astronaut and space-shuttle commander who later served as a Democratic senator representing Arizona. He is also the twin brother of former astronaut Scott Kelly. His background gives him relevant experience in aviation, spaceflight and national-security policy, but professional credentials do not independently verify a UAP claim.

Kelly was speaking as a former astronaut and senator—not issuing a NASA conclusion. NASA has never announced that UAP are alien spacecraft.

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Which testimony was Kelly referring to?

Kelly did not name a specific witness in the interview. Contemporary coverage suggested that the testimony of former Navy F/A-18 pilot Ryan Graves may have been among the material he had in mind, but that connection should be treated as an interpretation rather than a statement by Kelly.

Graves testified before the House Oversight subcommittee on July 26, 2023, alongside former Navy pilot David Fravor and former intelligence officer David Grusch. The official congressional record identifies the witnesses and provides the hearing materials.

In his written testimony, Graves described himself as a former F-18 pilot with more than a decade of Navy service and discussed UAP encounters he said he experienced. He also relayed reports and information provided by other military and intelligence personnel.

Those categories should not be merged. A firsthand account is a witness’s report of what they personally observed. A secondhand account is evidence that someone made a report, not independent confirmation that the underlying event occurred exactly as described.

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What the 2023 hearing established—and what it did not

The hearing established that military personnel had reported unusual observations and that witnesses raised concerns about government transparency and the handling of UAP information. It did not publicly establish that the objects were extraterrestrial spacecraft or technologically impossible vehicles.

A useful way to evaluate the claims is to separate three questions:

  1. Was something observed or reported? Military witnesses said that it was.
  2. Could it be identified with the available information? In some cases, no.
  3. Was it alien or beyond known technology? The public hearing did not prove that conclusion.

“Unidentified” generally means that analysts do not have enough reliable information to assign an object to a known category. It does not automatically mean “unexplained,” and neither term means “extraterrestrial.” “Impossible” is a much stronger claim that requires high-quality, independently verified data.

What the official U.S. investigations found

The Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) provides an important counterweight to sensational interpretations. In its historical review, AARO reported no verifiable evidence that UAP sightings represented extraterrestrial activity or that the U.S. government or private industry possessed extraterrestrial technology.

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AARO also said it found no indication that information had been illegally or improperly withheld from Congress. Alleged secret programs, according to the review, were either nonexistent or misidentified national-security programs unrelated to exploiting extraterrestrial technology.

The Defense Department’s summary of AARO’s findings and the AARO Historical Record Report, Volume 1 both make an important qualification: some cases remain unresolved or unidentified. That reflects incomplete evidence, classification barriers, reporting problems or insufficient sensor data—not proof of alien technology.

Why investigate UAP if aliens have not been proven?

There is a practical national-security reason to investigate. Unknown objects near military training areas could be drones, surveillance systems, foreign technology, balloons, ordinary aircraft, sensor artifacts or other conventional phenomena. Any of those possibilities can matter for flight safety and defense planning.

Better investigations can improve reporting procedures, combine radar and infrared data, identify recurring objects and distinguish genuine anomalies from camera effects or ordinary aircraft. That is a legitimate reason to fund research without assuming an extraterrestrial explanation in advance.

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Kelly’s position was therefore compatible with skepticism. Government agencies can investigate credible reports precisely because the available evidence is incomplete.

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What NASA’s UAP study concluded

NASA published the final report from its independent UAP study team on September 14, 2023. Its public approach emphasizes better data, scientific methods and reducing the stigma around reporting unusual observations.

NASA’s UAP resource page does not declare that UAP are alien craft. The agency’s role has been to consider how scientific tools and improved data collection could make future reports more useful for analysis.

What happened after Kelly’s 2024 comments?

The discussion continued through congressional proceedings and official UAP publications. AARO’s Congressional and Press Products page lists subsequent materials, including a Senate Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities proceeding dated November 19, 2024. The page also lists a Fiscal Year 2025 UAP Annual Report added July 20, 2026.

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These later hearings and reports should not be presented as confirmation of Kelly’s interpretation or of the most extraordinary witness allegations. A hearing records testimony; it does not, by itself, validate every claim presented there.

How to read the headline accurately

Headline implication What the evidence supports
Kelly personally saw an alien craft Unsupported by the interview; he did not claim such a sighting.
NASA confirmed UFOs are extraterrestrial Misleading; NASA studied data and reporting methods, not alien confirmation.
“Compelling” testimony proves alien technology No. It describes Kelly’s view of testimony, not independent verification.
Unidentified objects defy physics Not established without reliable, complete and independently checked data.
Congress confirmed the witnesses’ claims Congress heard testimony; public hearings did not prove extraterrestrial origin.

Bottom line

Mark Kelly urged Congress to take credible UAP reports more seriously and investigate them with better resources. His comments support further fact-finding, particularly for aviation safety and national security. They do not establish that aliens have visited Earth, that any specific UAP was extraterrestrial, or that the United States possesses recovered alien technology.

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