it announced on Thursday

[kadioguy]

Nasa is to engage a global army of citizen sky watchers to help it solve the mystery of unidentified anomalous phenomena, more commonly known as UFOs, and search for life on other worlds.

The space agency has also appointed its first director of UAP research – a de facto chief of UFO studies – to coordinate its efforts to help explain the unknown, it announced on Thursday, as it unveiled a science-based “road map” to collect future data.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/14/ufo-nasa-research-chief-announcement
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1a. Was this piece "originally" like this?

[...]
The space agency announced on Thursday that it has also appointed its first director of UAP research – a de facto chief of UFO studies – to coordinate its efforts to help explain the unknown, as it unveiled a science-based “road map” to collect future data.
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1b. I ask this question because I wonder why it is not " ..., which it announced on Thursday, ... ".

1c. I guess that "... it announced on Thursday, ... " can be correct and not a run-on sentence because it is enclosed by commas, so it is a parenthetical clause. Is that right?

2. Is the pattern of "citizen sky watchers" like "coffee shop", i.e., noun+noun?

[Edit: Improved content]

 

[Tarheel]

1. The "it" refers to NASA. (You could insert "which" in there, and I suppose nobody would notice.)
2. Sure.

 

[Amigos4]

I have never seen the US space agency called “Nasa”. It has always been “NASA”.
Is this an example of BrE vs. AmE spelling?

 

[jutfrank]

1a. Was this piece "originally" like this?

[...]
The space agency announced on Thursday that it has also appointed its first director of UAP research – a de facto chief of UFO studies – to coordinate its efforts to help explain the unknown, as it unveiled a science-based “road map” to collect future data.

It was never 'originally' like that, but that's what it means, yes.

1b. I ask this question because I wonder why it is not " ..., which it announced on Thursday, ... ".

It's typical newspaper style to lead with the news and follow with a reporting phrase.

The space agency has also appointed its first director of UAP research – a de facto chief of UFO studies – to coordinate its efforts to help explain the unknown, it announced on Thursday

The word it refers to the space agency.

1c. I guess that "... it announced on Thursday, ... " can be correct and not a run-on sentence because it is enclosed by commas, so it is a parenthetical clause. Is that right?

It's not parenthetical, no. This is a report. It's like saying "We have appointed a new member of staff", Nasa said.

2. Is the pattern of "citizen sky watchers" like "coffee shop", i.e., noun+noun?

Yes. In fact, it's: noun + (noun + noun)

I have never seen the US space agency called “Nasa”. It has always been “NASA”.
Is this an example of BrE vs. AmE spelling?

Not particularly. It's just the way The Guardian likes to write acronyms, capitalising just the first letter. Different people, and different publishers, each have their own style.

 

[Rover_KE]

Other examples you’ll see are ‘Nato’, ‘Fifa’. ‘Unesco’ etc.

 

[Tarheel]

NASA -- National Aeronautics Space Administration

I don't see the point to changing it from an acronym to whatever the other thing is.

 

[Amigos4]

Not particularly. It's just the way The Guardian likes to write acronyms, capitalising just the first letter. Different people, and different publishers, each have their own style.

Other examples you’ll see are ‘Nato’, ‘Fifa’. ‘Unesco’ etc.

The style guide for The Guardian does not appear to be consistent with its treatment of acronyms.
Referring to Post #1, why isn’t only the first letter of “UFO“ and “UAP” capitalized?