The British government is officially preparing to announce the discovery of alien life, a move described as ‘long overdue’ by the UK’s leading UFO expert.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is currently making plans for how it will react to the so-called ‘black swan’ event that is the discovery of extraterrestrial life.
An internal report will be presented to the DSIT Permanent Secretary setting out recommendations for an action plan including opportunities, challenges and areas of expertise.
While a summary of the work states the primary focus of the report will be ‘the impact on the science landscape’, it will also consider the wider impact of the news in society.
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| The site of the famous Roswell UFO incident |
Metro report: Humans have pondered the existence of other lifeforms, at least on record, since medieval times. In recent decades, reports of UFOs have soared, the most famous being the Roswell incident in 1947, when a craft allegedly crashed in the New Mexico desert.
Looking outward, scientists around the world are focused on the search for extraterrestrial life (SETI), scanning the skies for signs of other beings, whether microscopic or advanced civilizations.
Should a definitive discovery be made, the ramifications for science, governments and society will be significant, hence many in the industry arguing for better planning.
One such voice is Nick Pope, who investigated UFOs for the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
‘I’m very pleased to hear this study is being carried out, because it’s long overdue,’ said Mr Pope. ‘Rumours are circulating in the scientific community that strong evidence of a biosignature has already been detected by the James Webb Space Telescope, and whatever might have been found, it’s very possible that an announcement about a biosignature – or perhaps even a techosignature – is imminent.
‘As always, it’s better to have a plan and not need it, than need it and not have it.’
A biosignature is any characteristic, such as an element or molecule, that offers evidence of past or present alien life. Technosignatures are any property or effect that shows past or present technology.
‘DSIT rightly categorises the discovery of extraterrestrial life as a black swan scientific event,’ said Mr Pope. ‘It’s arguably the ultimate black swan scientific event. The societal impact of finding extraterrestrial life is impossible to overstate. It would arguably be the biggest and most important scientific discovery of all time, and the most impactful.
‘This is particularly true if we find intelligent life, especially if we were to interact with it in some way. This would have profound effects on almost every aspect of society, including politics, religion, science, technology, and much more besides.
‘In the worst case scenario, we might be facing an existential threat.’
Despite numerous countries conducting their own searches, there is little official guidance at any level regarding what will happen in the event of discovering alien life – or even making contact.
The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) has developed a Declaration of Principles, a set of general guidelines for such an event, but does little beyond establishing that the signal must be verified and the country that makes the discovery gets to share it with the world.
After that happens, there is little in place.
Mr Pope, who submitted the FOI request, said: ‘The societal reaction to Covid – ripping each other apart over masks and vaccines – doesn’t bode well, particularly when one remembers that governments had contingency plans for a global pandemic, so it was hardly an unanticipated event.
‘How would people react to finding evidence of an advanced civilisation on a planet orbiting a nearby star? Especially, as some believe, if they’re already sending probes here.’
The case study summary appears to focus on the idea that life would be found beyond Earth, noting numerous missions bound for other planets in the search.
