Is a UAP a UFO? NASA's new team investigating the unknown

Have you ever seen a UFO? NASA has a whole team for tracking them down

Sixteen space experts have been chosen for a very special mission - investigating mysteries found in the sky!

NASA calls these UAPs - unidentified aerial phenomena - but you might know them as UFOs.

The new team will spend the next nine months investigating sightings and making a plan for dealing with future UAPs.

The team is made up of 16 different scientists, all experts in different subjects including aviation, space travel, planets and even medicine and the oceans.

They say they hope to make the "unexplainable, explainable!".

UFO vs UAP - is there a difference?

You might think of pictures like this when talking about UFOs, but it's not normally a flying saucer!

When someone mentions UFOs you might start thinking of flying saucers, flashing lights and even alien invasions.

Well you don't need to worry about that happening any time soon - unknown objects flying in the sky usually have a perfectly normal explanation!

Whilst you might know them as UFOs, space experts use the term UAP which stands for Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.

This can be anything from an odd sighting in the sky, to aircraft being used in the wrong way.

For years people have been reporting mysteries from the skies - some people dedicate their lives to looking for UFOs!

When something in the sky can't be recognised, governments usually want to investigate it.

This is so they can make sure the skies are safe, and every aircraft has the right licenses and permissions.

'Exploring the unknown'

There's a lot of mysteries out there in the universe - and NASA hopes to solve them!

NASA's new team hopes to make a plan to work with government's to find out what is going on in the sky, if a UAP is spotted.

NASA says one of its key goals is "exploring the unknown" - and this goes all the way into the stretches of space with the James Webb telescope, to watching our skies for unusual objects.

By putting their top team together, NASA plans to find out answers to more of the mysteries in our skies.