Scientists to Establish ‘Alien Contact Protocol’

A group of policy experts and scientists decided to develop a set of protocols for contacting extra-terrestrials (E.T.) in the event of a sudden encounter with them.

John Elliot, a computer scientist at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, has become the coordinator of the newly established SETI Detection Hub, an interdisciplinary organisation that will develop a new protocol for contact with extraterrestrials.

Elliot says the new research group will "go beyond thinking about the impact on humanity" of a potential alien encounter and begin to focus on how the world should respond.

The only protocol for contact with extra-terrestrials was developed by the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute (SETI) community in 1989 and was revised over a decade ago. It draws attention to the importance of sharing discoveries with the public and the wider scientific community. In case of alien contact, the main advice for scientists is to seek instructions from the United Nations or another governing body.

The new SETI detection centre will scan signals for potential messages sent by alien life forms and develop a structure to make sense of these signals.

Will we ever get a message from E.T.? We don't know. We also don't know when this is going to happen. But we do know that we cannot afford to be ill-prepared — scientifically, socially, and politically rudderless — for an event that could turn into reality as early as tomorrow,

Elliot said.

Previously, the US Department of Defence submitted a report claiming there was no evidence of extraterrestrial visitors in more than 140 cases of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) reported by the US military.