Extraterrestrial First Contact: After the Pentagon Report - Five Things to do Now

It seems likely that the upcoming Department of Defense report about Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP - more popularly known as UFOs) will just be broad confirmation of what they have already confirmed in parts- there are several  military sightings of UAP that cannot be explained. That doesn’t mean that UAP are the work of aliens. But barring some strange technological aberration in US military hardware or secret operations carried out by the Chinese or Russians, alien activity is certainly a possibility.

So, what the hell do we do next? I have five ideas.

1.      - A robust investigation of UAP with specifically designed instrumentation and cameras. Rather than picking up these UAP by chance, let’s go looking for them with the best gear we can put on planes and ships. 

2.      - A military and civilian partnership to examine activities in near Earth orbit, Earth atmosphere, and the oceans. This would mean the military working with astrophysicists, oceanographers, and others with specialized scientific training to examine UAP. Why astrophysicists? Some of the equipment and techniques they use to search for signals in far off star systems could be repurposed to search closer to home. Why oceanographers? Many reports of UAP involve objects flying into the ocean. A sea search strategy seems prudent. Many people are now calling for a science-based approach.

3.      - A summit between the United States, China, and Russia to discuss the phenomena.

4.      - Organization of a UN response group to take up matters of what should happen if First Contact with an extraterrestrial civilization occurs. They do not have a plan currently. The initial response plan could be organized by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.

5.      - The development of long-term international protocols for handling various types of First Contact, with the emphasis on managing interaction between humans and ETI. These protocols should ultimately be presented to the UN General Assembly for approval.

You will notice that this process does not stay confined to the US Military. I think keeping such an investigation top-secret would be a tremendous mistake. It would provoke China and Russia and leave other nations without a say in the matter. It could create increased political tensions for many years.

The search and planning efforts should be done with a fair amount of transparency. While some investigations would have to begin in secret, the process and results of these investigations should be shared with the world public.

First Contact with an extraterrestrial civilization would be an event for all of humanity to share, not only in watching it occur, but helping to determine the path forward. We need to take some basic steps now to prepare. It could happen this year or fifty years from now. It may never happen. But the impact of high information First Contact on the human civilization would be huge. It makes sense to do some sort of basic planning now.

That’s the topic of my new book: - The “The Extraterrestrial Big Hello: A Guide for What to do When the Aliens Introduce Themselves.” It is available on Amazon worldwide.