There were rumors of the United Nations appointing an extraterrestrial ambassador spread on the internet. Sunday was when all of these begun flying. Mazlan Othman, a Malaysian astrophysicist, head of the U.N. Office for Outer Space Affairs, was reportedly in line for the job. Othman said on record that it would only happen if it were in response to alien visitors already come. Extraterrestrial contact isn’t as much of a far-reached idea as it was in the past. There are numerous discoveries of planets outside of the solar system. Stephen Hawking has told Earth to be cautious as there might be alien life. Othman e-mailed the British newspaper to set things straight. There could be no ambassador to space.
The United Nations would be the ones talking to the aliens?
The story that Mazlan Othman would be appointed the U.N. alien ambassador “broke” in the Sunday Times and spread like a super bug worldwide. Othman was quoted by the Sunday Times talking about the search for transmission from aliens. Othman thinks the United Nations should be the ones making the response that earth needs to have ready. Othman was said by the Australian to be in Britain in the near future for a scientific conference sponsored by the Royal Society. It said she might be speaking on contacting the aliens at that time.
Attempting to discover any other existence out there
In 1992 was when we first knew for sure there was an extra-solar planet, or exoplanet. The Kepler Mission, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration space observatory launched in 2009, has identified hundreds of possible exoplanets. Stephen Hawking warned Earth although there is probably not any intelligent alien life. In an interview with the Sunday Times, Hawking said that instead of seeking the aliens out, mankind should be trying to keep away from getting noticed. Aliens would most likely be searching for planets to exploit for their resources. He also said we need only to look in the mirror to imagine the consequences. “We only have to look at ourselves to view how intelligent life might develop into something we would not want to meet.”
Ambassadors from space actively playing on earth already
The U.N. alien ambassador story was brought down to Earth by Othman herself. Rather than jump on the bandwagon, the Guardian decided to really check the facts. The Royal Society got a call from the British newspaper that asked about the speech on alien contact made by Othman. It was news to them. Nobody knew about it. A switchboard in Vienna is where the U.N. referred inquiries about the Office for Outer Space Affairs. Othman told the Guardian the truth after an e-mail sent to her. She said the U.N. alien ambassador story was just a hoax. All she had to say was, “It sounds really cool, however I have to deny it.” Her speech to the Royal Society next week could be about how Earth will deal with a problem that actually exists, a possible collision with near-earth objects.
Further reading
The Australian
theaustralian.com.au/news/world/the-un-is-to-appoint-an-astrophysicist-to-be-the-first-contact-for-any-aliens/story-e6frg6so-1225929540635
Sunday Times
timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/space/article7107207.ece
The Guardian
guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2010/sep/27/un-alien-ambassador-mazlan-othman
