Ravi Kopparapu

NASA Goddard planetary scientist who argued in 2020 and 2021 that UAP deserve scientific study, reported added to the UAP Science Advisory Council in 2026.

Current role: Planetary scientist, Planetary Environments Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; co-lead, Sellers Exoplanet Environment Collaboration; member of the UAP Science Advisory Council (astrobiology), reported July 2026

Former roles:

Research positions at Penn State and Louisiana State University (before 2015)

@ravi_kopparapu on X

Background

Ravi Kopparapu is a planetary scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, where he has worked since 2015 after research posts at Penn State and Louisiana State University. He took his PhD in physics at LSU in 2006, originally in gravitational waves, and is best known for recalculating the habitable-zone boundaries around stars. He co-leads Goddard's Sellers Exoplanet Environment Collaboration, studies technosignatures and received the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 2020. In 2020 and 2021 he argued publicly, in a personal capacity, that UAP should be studied by scientists rather than left to speculation. In July 2026 Leonard David and the Harvard Crimson reported that he had been added to the UAP Science Advisory Council, after the 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, NASA Goddard) by Leonard David, and by the Harvard Crimson as added but not yet publicly announced. Leonard David · Crimson
2021-11-17 – SETI Talks livestream with Jacob Haqq-Misra, "UAPs: Are they worth scientific attention?", on the June 2021 ODNI preliminary assessment. Event listing
2021-05-26 – Washington Post opinion piece arguing for putting science at the centre of the UFO question. Washington Post · Olhar Digital summary, 27 May 2021
2020-07-27 – Scientific American, with Jacob Haqq-Misra – "UAP represent observations that are puzzling and waiting to be explained." and "We do not know what UAP are, and this is precisely the reason that we as scientists should study them." The piece notes the views are the authors' own, not NASA's. Scientific American

Timeline of involvement

2020-07-27 – Scientific American piece with Haqq-Misra calling for UAP research
2021-05-26 – Washington Post opinion piece on a scientific approach to UFOs
2021-11-17 – SETI Talks on UAP with Haqq-Misra
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.