The United Nations is being urged to prepare for the unthinkable: an extraterrestrial threat to Earth.
Scientists and politicians are sounding the alarm over 3I/ATLAS, the mysterious interstellar object fueling mounting concerns about how underprepared humanity is for a real alien encounter.
3I/ATLAS, detected earlier this year, is only the third confirmed interstellar object to pass through our solar system. Unlike typical comets and asteroids, it arrived from deep space and will eventually leave again.
Its strange glow and rapid rotation rate have fueled theories that it might not be natural. Some claim the object emits its own light rather than simply reflecting the Sun, suggesting it could contain a power source or propulsion system.
While NASA insists it’s a comet, Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb estimates there’s a 40% chance the object doesn’t have a natural origin and is some form of alien technology. He and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna have also raised concerns that it could deploy probes capable of reaching Earth.
Earth urged to prepare for possible alien threats following 3I/ATLAS hysteria
Speaking with Dexerto, Loeb warned that Earth has no plan for a real alien encounter at the moment.
“As far as I know, there are no protocols for responding to the discovery of functioning alien devices near Earth. A visitor in our backyard requires immediate attention because it could enter through the front door and pose an imminent threat,” Loeb said.
“In 2005, the U.S. Congress tasked NASA to identify 90% of all space rocks that may collide with Earth and have a size bigger than a football field (140 meters). However, alien technology is much more unpredictable than rocks and we do not have a contingency plan on how to search and respond to such a threat.”
Notably, NASA has suggested firing nukes as a “city-killer” asteroid that has a chance to hit the moon in 2032.
Loeb has submitted a white paper to United Nations urging the creation of an international committee focused on potential threats from interstellar objects. He believes governments must coordinate early rather than react too late.
Loeb also argued for a full-sky monitoring system. He said building advanced observatories in both hemispheres could give humanity a fighting chance to detect and understand any incoming alien technology.
“After the first verified encounter with alien technology, the funding level will have to increase by a factor of a thousand, comparable to the global military budget worldwide, because of the severe implications to the world economy.”
Even if no threat emerges, he argued, the scientific benefits would be enormous.
Alien panic grows
Despite NASA’s reassurances, Loeb says the lack of preparation is a bigger issue than any possible cover-up.
“I believe the recent delay in data dissemination from NASA due to the government shutdown does not flag extraterrestrial intelligence but rather terrestrial stupidity,” he told Dexerto.
The warning comes as other alleged alien discoveries make headlines. NASA recently announced its strongest evidence yet that ancient alien life may have existed on Mars.
Separately, Dr. Max Rempel, a molecular biologist with a PhD from the Institute of Gene Biology in Moscow, claims to have found “non-human” DNA in people who say they were abducted. However, the study has not been peer-reviewed.
The mystery of 3I/ATLAS has become a flashpoint in the growing debate over how Earth would respond to a true alien contact scenario. Loeb and others argue that waiting for proof is a gamble the world can’t afford.
Whether 3I/ATLAS is just a comet or something more, the warning is clear: humanity has no backup plan if Independence Day ever becomes reality.
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