In 2022, AARO contracted Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to conduct a thorough investigation into the specimen’s origins and properties. According to AARO’s summary on their website, “In 2022, The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) contracted with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to conduct materials testing on a magnesium (Mg) alloy specimen. This specimen has been publicly alleged to be a component recovered from a crashed extraterrestrial vehicle in 1947, and purportedly exhibits extraordinary properties, such as functioning as a terahertz waveguide to generate antigravity capabilities. In April 2024, ORNL produced a summary of findings documenting the laboratory’s methodology to assess this specimen’s elemental and structural characteristics.”

ORNL’s investigation involved a series of advanced tests, including isotopic ratio measurements, elemental composition analysis, and structural characterization using microscopy and spectrometry techniques. The findings, as documented in the reports, indicate that the specimen is of terrestrial origin, according to ORNL. The isotopic composition of the magnesium and lead in the specimen falls within the expected values for terrestrial materials, suggesting that it is not extraterrestrial.

“ORNL assessed this specimen to be terrestrial in origin and that it does not meet the theoretical requirements to function as a terahertz (THz) waveguide,” the AARO report states. The analysis revealed that the bismuth layers within the specimen were intermixed with lead, which precludes the possibility of it functioning as a waveguide. The report further explains that “this specimen’s elemental and structural characteristics do not meet the conditions to theoretically function as a waveguide.”

The historical context provided by AARO adds another layer to their analysis. The characteristics of the specimen are consistent with mid-20th-century magnesium alloy research and development projects, which often involved the use of zinc, lead, and bismuth additives for various purposes, including corrosion resistance. The banding and structural features observed in the specimen align with manufacturing techniques from that era, such as vapor deposition.

Despite the conclusive findings, the reports acknowledge the specimen’s long and debated history. While the analysis strongly supports a terrestrial origin, the exact historical origin and purpose of the specimen remain unclear due to its undocumented chain of custody and conflicting personal accounts. AARO’s summary notes that “the specimen’s delamination, oxidation, and structural characteristics are consistent with exposure to environmental and mechanical stresses over time.”

The reports, released by AARO, are now available for download from The Black Vault below.

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Document Archive

Synopsis: Analysis of a Metallic Specimen [10 Pages, 10MB]

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Synopsis: Analysis of a Metallic Specimen [4 Pages, 0.4MB]

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The post AARO Releases Findings on Suspected Extraterrestrial Alloy first appeared on The Black Vault.

This document appeared on eBay, and had no information other than the title and a price tag of $1,000,000.

So, The Black Vault chased it through FOIA. It was received, and is now archived below, in full.

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Extra-Terrestrial Warfare by Robert Suggs, June 1965, Combat Operations Research Group [19 Pages, 3.2MB]

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FOIA Response Letter

The post Extra-Terrestrial Warfare by Robert Suggs, June 1965, Combat Operations Research Group first appeared on The Black Vault.

In 2017, Senator Jeff Flake published a document that outlined 50 examples of what he felt was “wasteful spending.”

The document was called, “Wastebook: PORKémon Go“, a play off the popular game called Pokemon. The idea was the showcase programs that were wasteful spends, such as:

• The “Spaceport to Nowhere” ($80.4 million)
• The “Hologram Comedy Club” ($1.7 million)
• The “Fish on a Treadmill” ($1.5 million)
• The Computers That Binge-Watch “Desperate Housewives” ($460,000)
• The “Angry Birds” in Ohio ($118,000)

He stood before Congress on January 10, 2017, and outlined more, including a $1,000,000 NASA grant to prepare world religions for the discovery of alien life. Senator Flake said:

“A $1 million NASA project is preparing the world’s religions for the possible discovery of extraterrestrial life forms–$1 million to prepare the world’s religions for the possible discovery of extraterrestrial life forms. Do we need to spend that, really?

A major sticking point for the participants was defining what life is: ‘Much of the discussion centered on the question, `What is life?’ It turns out that life is notoriously difficult to define,” they concluded.”

So, in June of 2020, The Black Vault filed FOIA requests for records relating to this research. The request aimed to receive the grant paperwork, final product, etc. Below is the result of that case.

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NASA’s $1 Million Grant To Prepare Religions for Extraterrestrial Life Discovery [34 Pages, 21MB]

The post NASA’s $1 Million Grant To Prepare Religions for Extraterrestrial Life Discovery first appeared on The Black Vault.

On December 4, 2013, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Exploration held a hearing about the search for extraterrestrial life. It was given the title: “Astrobiology: The Search for Biosignatures in our Solar System and Beyond.”

Below is the official hearing charter about the event.

 Astrobiology: The Search for Biosignatures in our Solar System and Beyond Hearing Charter, December 4, 2013 [4 Pages, 400kb] – The purpose of this hearing is to examine astrobiology research and the search for biosignatures in our Solar System and beyond. The hearing will include a general assessment of the multi- and interdisciplinary nature of astrobiology research, including the role astrobiology plays in formulating NASA space missions.

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The following documents are from the research collected on extraterrestrial life, civilizations, communication and exploration.

 Extraterrestrial Life In The Universe [10 Pages]

 The Search for a Rationale for Interstellar Communications [8 Pages, 600kb] – The paper explores the motives that have been given, or that might lie behind the expressed desire to communicate with other intelligent life forms living elsewhere in our Galaxy.

 The Search for Signals of Extraterrestrial Life [10 Pages, 600KB] – The search for signals of extraterrestial life is connected with the general problem of existence and distribution of intelligent life in the universe, which for a long time was a province of science fiction or at the most a province of speculative conclusions. However recently it became an object of scientific research. More than that, a portion of the problem which relates to the form of life of the planets of the solar system has already been partially solved. On the basis of astronomical, radioastronomical, and direct experimental research, it can be concluded that not only do civilizations not exist on the nearest planets of the solar system, but even the existence of simple forms of life there is questionable.

The post Extraterrestrial Life, Communication and Exploration first appeared on The Black Vault.