Hackers prank alien invasion in Brazil and Iran's "jellyfish drones"
This week on The Cosmic Report: Brazilians were warned of an alien invasion, China quietly released a mysterious object from orbit, and an American fighter pilot described seeing "jellyfish drones" over Iran.
Alien alert. Image by Cybernews.
This week on The Cosmic Report: Brazilians were warned of an alien invasion, China quietly released a mysterious object from orbit, and an American fighter pilot described seeing "jellyfish drones" over Iran.
- Brazil: Hackers turned Brazil's emergency alert system into an alien invasion prank, exposing the risks of compromised public warning networks.
- China: China's secretive Shenlong spaceplane released another mystery object in orbit, highlighting how classified space missions often fuel speculation.
- Iran: Reports of "jellyfish drones" over Iran have reignited debate over whether strange military sightings point to advanced drone technology or simple misidentification.
Thousands of Brazilians received emergency alerts in the middle of the night warning of an "alien attack."
Users received a flurry of push notifications mimicking government emergency alerts. It was later revealed that the system had been hacked and the alert templates had been altered.
Citizens soon stopped entertaining the possibility of an alien invasion, and instead talked about whether or not they could trust future government alerts, as this was now an issue of cybersecurity.
In fact, when the messages were dissected further, it became apparent they contained spelling mistakes, shifting the mood from incredulous fun to frustration and insecurity.
China's secretive spaceplane
Now to China, where they have an autonomous, reusable, robotic space plane called Shenlong, or “divine dragon” in Chinese.
The spaceplane appears to have released an unidentified object while orbiting Earth. The detection came from commercial tracking company LeoLabs before being catalogued by the US Space Force.
Nobody knows exactly what the object is, however, similar deployments happened during previous Shenlong missions.
It could be a subsatellite, experimental hardware, or equipment used for orbital testing.
Shenlong itself remains highly secretive, inviting inevitable comparisons with America's X-37B, reported Space.com.
Iran's “jellyfish drones”
When you’re brand new to the UFO topic, the term “jellyfish” might seem a bit absurd or whimsical. This term, however, is part and parcel of UFO terminology, among other shapes like blob or manta ray.
Reports emerged this week claiming a US F-15 pilot, who survived after being shot down over western Iran, described seeing bizarre "jellyfish drones" moments before his aircraft crashed.
The craft reportedly resembled multiple drones, with smaller units hanging below. Whatever the pilot saw created debate among military analysts, largely down to whether it was simply an Iranian military drone, especially as Iran is a major arms drone exporter.
As is often the case with alleged military sightings of UFOs, it can be difficult to verify a witness account of what a pilot thought they saw. Regardless, when the space and military communities open up to scrutinize unidentified craft, it can be seen as a positive dialogue overall.
