Jacob Haqq-Misra

Astrobiologist who co-wrote the 2020 Scientific American call to study UAP, sits on the Sol Foundation advisory board and joined the UAP advisory council.

Current role: Senior Research Investigator, Blue Marble Space Institute of Science; Advisory Board member, Sol Foundation; member of the UAP Science Advisory Council (astrobiology), reported July 2026

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Background

Jacob Haqq-Misra is an astrobiologist at the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, where he is a senior research investigator, and a co-founder and officer of its parent non-profit Blue Marble Space. His research covers planetary habitability, the search for extraterrestrial life, environmental ethics and space settlement, and he wrote Sovereign Mars on Martian governance. In July 2020 he and NASA's Ravi Kopparapu published a Scientific American piece arguing that UAP deserve interdisciplinary scientific study, which they followed with a 2021 SETI Institute talk. He sits on the Sol Foundation's Advisory Board and spoke at its 2025 symposium in Italy. In July 2026 Leonard David and the Harvard Crimson reported that he had been added to the UAP Science Advisory Council, after the initial roster Avi Loeb announced on 13 June and DefenseScoop reported. The council is advisory only: it works from unclassified data, its members hold no clearances, and it has no published charter or budget.

On the record

2026-07-11 – reported as a new council member (astrobiology, Blue Marble Space) by Leonard David, and by the Harvard Crimson as added but not yet publicly announced. Leonard David · Crimson
2025-10-26 – Sol Foundation Symposium, Lake Maggiore, Italy – spoke in the session "Facing the Future—Opportunities and Dilemmas". Agenda · Event page
2021-11-17 – SETI Talks livestream with Ravi Kopparapu, "UAPs: Are they worth scientific attention?", on the June 2021 ODNI preliminary assessment and whether scientists should study UAP. Event listing
2020-07-27 – Scientific American, with Ravi Kopparapu – "We, as scientists, cannot hastily dismiss any phenomenon without in-depth examination." and "We do not know what UAP are, and this is precisely the reason that we as scientists should study them." Scientific American

Timeline of involvement

2020-07-27 – Scientific American piece with Kopparapu calling for UAP research
2021-11-17 – SETI Talks on UAP with Kopparapu
2025-10-26 – speaks at the Sol Foundation Symposium in Italy
2026 – listed on the Sol Foundation Advisory Board
2026-07-11 – reported as added to the UAP Science Advisory Council

Relevant links

Part of the Key People in Disclosure series. Verified 2026-10-10. Spotted an error? Reach out.