My overriding feeling watching last week’s hearing was not so much about the novelty of the witnesses’ testimony as it was about the courage of the politicians asking the questions. And they may well be joined soon by key members of the Executive Branch.

Under the incoming Trump administration, Secretary of State-elect, Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser-elect Mike Waltz, and John Ratcliffe, the CIA Director-elect, have made it clear in the past that UAP are a security issue of public interest.

As my friend and colleague Dr Pippa Malmgren wrote in a recent LinkedIn post: ‘We need to bring science, curiosity, oversight and care to this consequential matter. We need to know if we already have tech that can transform humanity’s future.’ And, she adds: If what we are dealing with is a potential higher form of intelligence, ‘is firing on it the best way to open communication with it?’

©Nick Cook