There are many popular books and movies about alien visits that don’t go well for one reason or another. Most frequently, humanity is caught flat-footed and needs to quickly mount a defense against the invaders. Less commonly told is the story of first contact going well, and in my research I was unable to find any studies on how humanity should best approach such a situation.
My personal thoughts on the existence of alien life in the universe is that it’s highly unlikely that Earth is the only planet with intelligent life, especially given the age of Earth compared to other planets. And while it’s possible life can occur on a planet much different than our own, we are finding more and more planets like Earth that can sustain life as we know it. To me this means that it’s not a matter of if we will encounter alien intelligent life, but a matter of when and how.
To that end, I thought it would be fun to spend a little time outlining some thoughts on how we might best prepare and respond to an alien visit.
Check for signs of aliens coming towards us
One of the first steps in preparing for an extraterrestrial visit is to know when they are coming. We need to be constantly searching for signs of unusual objects coming toward our galaxy, which organizations like the SETI Institute and NASA are already doing together in the United States. What would be better though is collaboration with similar institutes and agencies across the globe narrowly focused on this search. The instant something is found, they would all be alerted to verify any claims and prepare for what’s next.
Have a global group in charge of preparing
In the event that aliens were to visit Earth, it’s important to have a united front. We don’t want Russia trying to attack while China and the US argue over who takes lead in establishing communication. That’s why we need a global group of leaders and researchers in charge of preparing for this scenario. Let’s call it the “Global Alliance for Alien Visitation,” or GAAV for short.
Continue reading “What If Aliens Came to Earth?” on Medium.