People who seriously talk about the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations are usually considered either dreamers, or writers, or crazy. But as humans explore the universe deeper and deeper, some official agencies, such as the United Nations, find it prudent to establish official rules in case aliens are actually found. Here are ten rules of behavior that you need to know about in case aliens decide to come into contact with the Earth or astronauts stumble upon an alien civilization. Otherwise, you can thunder into jail.
Astronauts must undergo quarantine upon return from space
The U. S. Congress passed the Extraterrestrial Impact Act in 1969. This law mandates that all astronauts returning from travel to space be quarantined for a specified period of time. This is to ensure that they do not unconsciously (or knowingly) bring any life forms to Earth. This was done shortly before the Apollo 11 mission. NASA has never worried about little green men as about microbes that could cause an outbreak or epidemic on Earth.
Oddly enough, this law has been misinterpreted by some people, who felt that it prohibited Americans from making contact with aliens. The law was repealed in 1977 after several successful NASA missions showed that astronauts did not bring pollutants from space. Despite this, people are still posting angry rants on the Internet, complaining that someone is forbidding them from communicating with aliens.
Alien life must be reported to the UN immediately
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In 1967, the United Nations established the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies. It is often called the "Outer Space Treaty" because no one remembers the full title of the treaty. It was originally signed by Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, but now more than 125 countries stand under it.
Article V of the Outer Space Treaty states: "States Parties to the Treaty shall immediately inform other States Parties to the Treaty or the Secretary General of the United Nations of any phenomena that they detect in outer space […] that may pose a threat to the life or health of astronauts." … Naturally, this includes the discovery of aliens.
In 2011, the Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, Mazalan Othman, gave a speech in which she stated that before the Earth comes into contact with aliens, it must have systems to enable this interaction. This has led to widespread reports that Othman is an "alien ambassador" to the UN. Othman denied this.
In any case, the UN will be one of the first to know if astronauts encounter something extraterrestrial.
Rules of conduct for the first contact with aliens
After observing liquid water on the surface of Mars, the likelihood of the presence of life there increased significantly. The Outer Space Treaty prohibits possible contamination of alien life by human forces and human technology. Wherever there is liquid water, a “special region” is formed to which special rules apply. Other "special regions" include places with caves or volcanic activity.
This is why NASA's rovers did not go to photograph liquid water on Mars, despite all the excitement caused by its discovery. Rovers do not meet sterilization standards that are considered safe for finding life in areas where it might be.
People, too, shouldn't go to these areas until sterile robots start doing research. But as several companies, including NASA, SpaceX, and Mars One, are pushing their plans to send humans to Mars, the question arises: Will humans obey the rules and stay away from the place where the greatest discovery of our time could be born?
Which brings us to our next law …
Law of the sea for space colonizers
According to the UN Outer Space Treaty, no person or nation can own any part or the entire planet, since they belong to "all of humanity." And since different countries are working on issues of long-term development and possible colonization of Mars, the question arises, what laws will apply on Mars to expats (who will then become aliens for us)?
The UN has a declaration for this. In 1962, the UN adopted the Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, which states that whoever sends a rocket into space will retain his jurisdiction over it and the people in it. Just like the crew of a ship in international waters, the crew of a ship on Mars will have to follow the rules of the country that launched the ship. For example, NASA astronauts still have to follow US laws.
Aliens are people too
In 1953, American lawyer and former vice-president of the International Astronautical Federation, Andrew Haley, published an article in which he discussed the idea of such an appeal to aliens that any person would like to have, even though they may be from completely different lands. The idea to extend the golden rule to include aliens became known as the "metasacon."
Then the meta-law was formulated by the Austrian lawyer Ernst Fazan. It includes three key principles:
1. People should not harm aliens
2. Aliens and humans are equal
3. People must understand the desire of aliens to live and have a safe space for this
In other words, you don't have to punch aliens in the face like Will Smith did on Independence Day.
Astronauts are messengers on behalf of the human race
The UN, with all its rules on space exploration, does not forget the old adage: "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." Therefore, the Declaration of Legal Principles governing the activities of states in the exploration and use of outer space includes a section in which astronauts are designated as "envoys from humanity in space."
This makes one wonder if the training of astronauts includes any course of etiquette on how to make first contact and not harm humanity. According to retired American astronaut Clayton Anderson, NASA's astronaut training program currently does not include instructions on how to deal with alien contact.
Aliens will have to pay taxes
An alien fined by the tax office would be an interesting first impression.
According to American law, anything sold by the United States in outer space is considered sold in the United States. Hence, it is subject to US tax law. The law says nothing about exemption from selling unearthly life forms.
US tax rules also apply to goods that are bartered. This is a kind of ban on the separation of interplanetary technologies. However, NASA is exempt from paying taxes, so it can carry out whatever deals it wants. Unfortunately for aliens, if they have not previously registered in the United States as a non-profit organization, they will receive an unpleasant first lesson about what life is like for the average American who has to pay taxes.
It is possible that in other situations the picture will be similar.
Aliens can be abducted
The first person to gain widespread fame for reporting an alien abduction was the Brazilian Antonio Vilas Boas. In 1957, 23-year-old Boas claimed to have been abducted by aliens.
Seven years earlier, the US military had developed a first contact plan called the Seven Steps to Contact, in which one of the steps actually involved abducting several aliens (if they were technologically weaker than us) for study. Yes, yes, we could become creepy aliens who steal creatures from their own planet and bring them back later to retell creepy stories to their distrustful peers.
Mouthpiece of the world
The Standing Committee of the IAA SETI, or in short, the International Academy of Astronautics for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, is an international organization that does exactly what its name says: hunting aliens. They track different types of waves (radio waves, microwaves) in search of possible transmissions from aliens.
Although the people conducting the SETI experiments were not always highly respected, some big names and agencies have shown support for SETI and its methods. In 1896, Nikola Tesla proposed using radio waves to send messages to aliens. Since 1960, NASA has funded SETI programs with its own funds.
The IAA SETI Standing Committee has written a Declaration of Principles for Post-Discovery of Extraterrestrial Intelligence. It sets out the basic rules of behavior if anyone performing SETI experiments actually detects alien signals.
If such a signal is detected and acknowledged, no response can be given until the information has been disseminated worldwide and a generally accepted response has been generated. It turns out that it will take a long time between detecting a signal and responding to it. One can only hope that the aliens will be more patient than the earthlings.
Alas, space belongs to Earth
As we have already mentioned, the UN Outer Space Treaty calls space and planets "the property of all mankind." The UN also makes countries liable to the Earth for any damage they may cause to planets. Difficulties may arise when another Columbus is born on Earth and proclaims someone else's house as his newly acquired property.
This will be especially true if the law on bonuses for space settlements proposed by Rand Simberg is passed. Simberg suggests that a kind of planetary self-takeover will lead to faster colonization and a stronger economy on Earth. Owning part or all of the planet is contrary to the Outer Space Treaty, but this applies only to those countries that have signed it. And what is it worth for a nation to declare that it is withdrawing from the treaty and set off to plant a banner on another planet?
ILYA KHEL