NASA’s Handling of UAP Records
- Source: HM05 UAP Substack (Grant Lavac FOIA analysis)
- URL: https://hm05uap.substack.com/p/nasas-handling-of-uap-records
- Retrieved: 2026-05-04 via WebFetch summary
Key Findings from FOIA Release
A Freedom of Information Act request by researcher Grant Lavac revealed internal NASA communications (April 2023 to October 2025) regarding UAP handling.
NASA’s Position on UAP Records
NASA leadership claimed the agency holds no UAP-related records. Dr. Daniel Evans, Assistant Deputy Associate Administrator for Research: “NASA does not hold any records related to UAP. The only incidents that could have been previously attributed to UAP were all resolved.”
Despite Evans serving as the Designated Federal Official for NASA’s 2022 UAP Independent Study Team and Mark McInerney being embedded as Director of UAP Research within AARO, NASA maintains it generated no specifically classified UAP documents.
Destruction of Public Communications
The FOIA revealed Evans acknowledged deleting unsolicited emails from the public about UAP sightings. He cited a 2022 directive stating such communications “should be immediately destroyed” as they weren’t pertinent business records.
Critical Issues Raised
- Whether NASA’s definition of “UAP records” improperly excludes study materials and public correspondence
- Whether public emails were properly classified as “unsolicited” when NASA’s website directed UAP questions to Evans
- Whether the destruction violated the 2024 NDAA, which prohibits destroying UAP records and withholding public communications about UAP
Conclusion
NASA employed narrow definitions of UAP records while potentially destroying relevant public communications, complicating verification of what records actually existed.