Scientists say Earth should prepare for alien encounters

Scientists are suggesting that world governments coordinate a plan of action for when contact with extraterrestrial life is made. This recommendation is stated in the most recent edition of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, which happens to have an extraterrestrial theme.

In the publication, scientists mention that the United Nations should be charged with coming up with a plan to deal with extraterrestrials when contact is made. Some believe that the U.N. has already taken the initiative by appointing a Malaysian astrophysicist by the name of Mazlan Othman to the position of Earth’s “UFO Ambassador“—a claim that was made in 2010 by London’s Sunday Times. The U.N. Office for Outer Space Affairs quickly denied the appointment.

Unfortunately, as has been previously stated by theoretical physicist (and Royal Society member) Stephen Hawking, some scientists are suggesting that Earth needs to “prepare for the worst.” Simon Conway Morris, a professor of evolutionary palaeobiology at Cambridge University, explains that life elsewhere will most likely have similarities to life on Earth, including “tendencies towards violence and exploitation.” Morris jumped even further with his assumptions by stating that, “If intelligent aliens exist, they will look just like us, and given our far from glorious history, this should give us pause for thought.”

In the Royal Society’s latest publication, scientists also examine how contact with extraterrestrial life might affect politics and religion.

The topic of extraterrestrial life is not a new one for the Royal Society. They have gathered several times in the past to discuss various issues related to extraterrestrial life, including one assembly that took place in January of 2010 where representatives from NASA, the European Space Agency, and the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs were present to discuss the consequences for science and society if/when extra-terrestrial life is discovered, among other things.

The Royal Society is a Fellowship of the world’s most eminent scientists and is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence, according to their website.