>**GreWi:** Back to VaMEx-MarsSymphony: The University of Würzburg’s share in the planned VaMEx project also includes a UAP camera. So it would be the first time that we would search for unidentified flying objects and phenomena (UFOs/UAPs) on another planet. How did you come up with the idea of doing this on Mars?
>***Kayal:***Â *We still don’t know what UFOs and UAPs are. Mars and Earth are very similar in many ways, from geology to meteorology. If UAPs exist on Earth, they could also be seen in the Martian sky. Another advantage of such a detection would be that we on Mars could at least exclude known terrestrial triggers from many classic UFO/UAP sightings such as birds, insects, balloons and airplanes, etc. as explanations for possibly detected UAP from the outset. The number of terrestrial satellites and probes on or around Mars is also still manageable and their flight and orbits are known, predictable and easy to verify. However, we are not looking for small green men on Mars, but for anomalies that could indicate new events or properties. The chance of this happening is small, but such a detection on Mars would be a sensation and would provide us with data that often stand in the way of elucidating these phenomena with terrestrial systems.*
>**GreWi:**Â So the camera is not looking for green Martian men. But what if you do discover them?
>***Kayal:***Â *Mars and Earth are similar, but we know that Mars has been developing for many millions of years from a once presumably life-friendly world to an environment that is now hostile to life, at least on the surface. Higher life, which still exists today, is almost impossible here and there are no known traces of an advanced civilization so far. Life on Mars, if it ever arose, is likely to exist only in the form of microbes. In fact, however, one goal of the entire VaMEx mission is also the targeted search for life on Mars. So we don’t want to rule anything out. We are happy to be surprised by what this presumed Martian life will look like and whether it is actually “green”.*
>**GreWi:**Â The funding of the project with federal funds is also unique so far (funding number 50RK2451A) and seems to me to be a big step for serious research into UAP in Germany.
>***Kayal:***Â *Absolutely. It is the first time ever that a research project with a very specific UAP component identified as such has been funded by the federal government. We are very grateful for that. In 2022, UAP research was explicitly included in IFEX’s research canon. This funding is also a recognition of our efforts to reduce the stigmatization and tabooing of this field of research at the academic level. We hope that this will open the door to further UAP projects funded with significant funds and perhaps also lead to cooperation with relevant state institutions.*
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>**GreWi:** Back to VaMEx-MarsSymphony: The University of Würzburg’s share in the planned VaMEx project also includes a UAP camera. So it would be the first time that we would search for unidentified flying objects and phenomena (UFOs/UAPs) on another planet. How did you come up with the idea of doing this on Mars?
>***Kayal:***Â *We still don’t know what UFOs and UAPs are. Mars and Earth are very similar in many ways, from geology to meteorology. If UAPs exist on Earth, they could also be seen in the Martian sky. Another advantage of such a detection would be that we on Mars could at least exclude known terrestrial triggers from many classic UFO/UAP sightings such as birds, insects, balloons and airplanes, etc. as explanations for possibly detected UAP from the outset. The number of terrestrial satellites and probes on or around Mars is also still manageable and their flight and orbits are known, predictable and easy to verify. However, we are not looking for small green men on Mars, but for anomalies that could indicate new events or properties. The chance of this happening is small, but such a detection on Mars would be a sensation and would provide us with data that often stand in the way of elucidating these phenomena with terrestrial systems.*
>**GreWi:**Â So the camera is not looking for green Martian men. But what if you do discover them?
>***Kayal:***Â *Mars and Earth are similar, but we know that Mars has been developing for many millions of years from a once presumably life-friendly world to an environment that is now hostile to life, at least on the surface. Higher life, which still exists today, is almost impossible here and there are no known traces of an advanced civilization so far. Life on Mars, if it ever arose, is likely to exist only in the form of microbes. In fact, however, one goal of the entire VaMEx mission is also the targeted search for life on Mars. So we don’t want to rule anything out. We are happy to be surprised by what this presumed Martian life will look like and whether it is actually “green”.*
>**GreWi:**Â The funding of the project with federal funds is also unique so far (funding number 50RK2451A) and seems to me to be a big step for serious research into UAP in Germany.
>***Kayal:***Â *Absolutely. It is the first time ever that a research project with a very specific UAP component identified as such has been funded by the federal government. We are very grateful for that. In 2022, UAP research was explicitly included in IFEX’s research canon. This funding is also a recognition of our efforts to reduce the stigmatization and tabooing of this field of research at the academic level. We hope that this will open the door to further UAP projects funded with significant funds and perhaps also lead to cooperation with relevant state institutions.*