United States officials are investigating the appearance of a new unidentified flying object over Texas skies this weekend.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) announced an investigation after detecting a small unidentified object in the skies above Texas on March 25. The agency said the investigation would be conducted as part of “routine operations.”
NORAD launched an aircraft to investigate, and initial observation led officials to believe the craft was most likely a recreational “Pico balloon.” Officials then concluded that the object did not pose a threat.
Project Picoballoon, one organization involved in the development of such aircraft, has already announced a new “ultralight balloon probe” to gather and monitor atmospheric data from the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere.
The producer currently shows that it has one active mission in place, with 23 more that have been finished. The active mission tracks the progress of the balloon, which is currently above eastern Ukraine.
No missions are currently in place above the United States.
The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade has also reported on a number of Pico balloons closer to the United States. However, the position of the latest balloon, as of March 4, is reported as far off the coast of South America.
Another Pico balloon had previously been reported missing in February, with its last reported position being over Alaska, according to Aviation Week. That balloon might have been shot down by U.S. Armed Forces.
Also in February, the United States military shot down an alleged spy balloon of Chinese origin off the coast of South Carolina. Officials from China claimed that the craft was a civilian aircraft.
The Chinese balloon was one of four objects that were spotted and ultimately shot down by U.S. Armed Forces over a span of eight days in February.
NORAD issued a statement along with this latest investigation:
“NORAD will continue to track and monitor the object and is in close coordination with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to ensure continued flight safety.”