Malaysian astrophysicist Mazlan Othman may add a new job title to her resume. She is currently Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), which deals with space-related issues ranging from international cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space, to managing the growing problem of space debris.
According to numerous reports, Othman is to be named the U.N.'s ambassador to extraterrestrials, if and when they ever contact humanity. The post will require approval from UN scientific advisory committees and the General Assembly. (How would you like to "pad" your resume with that job description? Or would you?)
Othman, who led Malaysia's national space agency before heading to the U.N., and helped train that country's first astronaut, is scheduled to speak next week at a Royal Society event devoted to the implications of alien contact and the need for necessary political processes to be in place should that contact occur. (I didn't even know Malaysia has a space agency...or astronauts!)
"The continued search for extraterrestrial communication...sustains the hope that someday humankind will receive signals from extraterrestrials," the publication The Australian quoted Othman as saying. "When we do, we should have in place a coordinated response that takes into account all the sensitivities related to the subject. The U.N. is a ready-made mechanism for such coordination." (Now if only they could coordinate some of those bothersome little Earth-bound problems like the global war on terrorism.)
The publication also quoted Professor Richard Crowther, a specialist in space law and governance (space law? governance? uh?) at the U.K. Space Agency, on Othman's suitability for the job: She "is absolutely the nearest thing we have to a 'take me to your leader' person." (Does he mean that as a compliment?)
Though contact with space aliens may not happen tomorrow, the recent discovery of potentially Earth-like planets, and of the existence of life forms in the harshest environments on Earth itself, have led to an increased focus on the possibility of extraterrestrial creatures. The late physicist Stephen Hawking helped to legitimize exopolitics, which looks at the public policy implications of alien life.
"To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational," The Times of London quoted Hawking as saying in April (2010). "The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like."
Othman seems to be sympathetic toward such life forms. As The Australian points out, under the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, overseen by the Office for Outer Space Affairs (No doubt down the hall from the "Office for Atlantis Affairs"), members of the U.N. agree to protect Earth against contamination by taking the precaution of "sterilizing" extraterrestrials (say WHAT?!). But, The Australian says, Othman "...wants a more tolerant approach." (Well, if I landed on an alien world and they tried to "sterilize" me, I'd be in favor of a more "tolerant approach," too! And this "treaty" has been around since 1967? Who did we make it with, the aliens?)
If Hawking's thinking is correct, Othman may be in for some challenging diplomacy. Though he suspects most aliens will prove to be microbes and small animals, Hawking warns against trying to make contact with intelligent ETs. He thinks they'd likely be cruising the galaxy in search of resources or potential colonies. (No cause for concern there over planetary pillaging.)
"We only have to look at ourselves," The Times quoted Hawking as saying, "to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet." But then, perhaps Othman's time at the U.N., and that agency's long history of dealing with the fallout from humanity's foibles, make her the perfect candidate for the job.
