{"id":286102,"date":"2026-06-11T14:53:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T13:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unistellar.com\/disclosure-day-what-science-says\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T15:09:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T14:09:15","slug":"disclosure-day-what-science-says","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.unistellar.com\/en-eu\/disclosure-day-what-science-says\/","title":{"rendered":"DISCLOSURE DAY – What science says ?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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DISCLOSURE DAY <\/b><\/h1>\n

– <\/b>What science says ?<\/b><\/h3>\n

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Commentary by Lauren Sgro, Program Manager for the \u201cExoplanet Transits\u201d program at Unistellar at the SETI Institute. <\/span><\/p>\n

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IF CONTACT HAPPENED TOMORROW: WHAT WOULD ACTUALLY HAPPEN ?<\/b><\/h3>\n

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Movies about alien invasions imagine secrecy, panic, and instant military responses.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Reality is simpler: <\/span>There is currently no official global protocol for extraterrestrial contact.<\/b><\/p>\n

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What exists instead is a mix of scientific procedures, international treaties, and existing crisis systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Question<\/b><\/td>\nWhat science says<\/b><\/td>\nSources<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A signal is detected. What happens first? <\/b><\/td>\nImmediate public <\/span>announcements are off the <\/span> table. Newly updated <\/span>protocols mandate <\/span>rigorous, independent <\/span>verification by multiple <\/span>organizations using <\/span>completely different <\/span>instruments before any <\/span> public disclosure. The main <\/span>goal here is to rule out <\/span>false positives and get <\/span>ahead of viral rumors, <\/span>AI-generated deepfakes, <\/span>and rampant <\/span>misinformation before a <\/span>solid scientific consensus is <\/span>reached<\/span><\/td>\n\n

IAA Post-Detection <\/span>Declaration of Principles <\/span>(Ratified June 2026); <\/span> <\/p>\n

IAA <\/span>SETI Permanent <\/span> Committee (Pr. Michael <\/span>Garrett)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Does international law already cover extraterrestrial contact?<\/b><\/td>\nNothing is stated about extraterrestrial contact. Yet, the 1967 Outer Space Treaty establishes the general space law with the following principles : peaceful use of space, prohibits national appropriation, and makes states responsible for their space activities. <\/span><\/td>\nOuter Space Treaty (1967); UNOOSA<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Do governments have an alien response plan?<\/b><\/td>\nMost countries have <\/span>no dedicated extraterrestrial response plan.<\/b> In case of threat, existing emergency systems would likely be used instead: crisis management structures, civil protection networks, emergency alerts, and government coordination mechanisms<\/span><\/td>\nThe US\u2019 plans for asteroids, national emergencies, and unidentified aerial phenomena (no publicly known plan for confirmed extraterrestrial contact) ; French civil security documentation (SAIP)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
What is the biggest challenge?<\/b><\/td>\nBeyond the massive legal <\/span>void of how humanity <\/span>should interact with <\/span>non-human intelligence, <\/span>the biggest hurdle is our <\/span>current information <\/span> ecosystem. Handling the <\/span>instantaneous, viral spread of a signal in the age of <\/span>24\/7 social media\u2014while <\/span>protecting researchers from <\/span>intense media pressure, <\/span>doxxing, and online <\/span>harassment\u2014is the new <\/span>scientific frontier<\/span><\/td>\nSETI Institute; Pr. Michael <\/span>Garrett (2026); <\/span>International space law <\/span>literature<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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HOW LIKELY IS EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE TO EXIST?<\/b><\/h3>\n

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The current scientific answer is :<\/span><\/p>\n

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We now know many ingredients for life appear common, but we still have no direct evidence elsewhere. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence may not depend on finding a message. It may depend on recognizing the technological footprint that advanced civilizations leave behind. <\/b><\/p>\n

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The numbers changed dramatically<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2022 > 6,000 confirmed exoplanets discovered so far<\/span>
<\/span>\u2022 likely hundreds of billions of planets in our galaxy<\/span>
<\/span>\u2022 zero confirmed detections of extraterrestrial life<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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When analyzing a planet for habitability, scientists use two main options for gathering data. They rely on <\/span>remote observations<\/b>, using tools like telescopes, spectrometers, and spectrographs to study the planet from a distance. On planets of the solar system, on-site exploration is the second option. If they can get closer, sending hardware like rovers, drills, cameras, and miniature laboratories to the surface could be useful. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Scientists are generally looking for three broad ingredients to determine whether extraterrestrial life could exist on a planet:<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ingredient<\/b><\/td>\nWhy it matters<\/b><\/td>\nWhat scientists look for<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Liquid water<\/b><\/td>\nEnables essential chemical reactions<\/span><\/td>\n\n

Oceans, ice, habitable zones<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Organic chemistry<\/b><\/td>\nProvides building blocks for life<\/span><\/td>\nCarbon molecules, amino acids, prebiotic compounds<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Energy sources<\/b><\/td>\n\n

Powers biological processes<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

Starlight, geothermal activity, chemical reactions<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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“Then why haven’t we found anything?”<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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This is known as the Fermi Paradox:<\/b><\/h3>\n

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If life should be common\u2026 \u2026where is everybody?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Possible explanations range from life being extremely rare to civilizations being short-lived or simply too distant.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Through programs like UNITE, NASA looks mainly for gas giants, observed in detail using networks of connected Unistellar telescopes operated by citizen scientists. Our telescopes\u2019 sensitivity allow our Community to also detect Oddball Rocky planets, which may challenge existing theories. <\/span><\/p>\n

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If advanced civilizations exist, they may be detectable not through communication, but through the large-scale impact they have on their environment (technosignatures).<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sources:<\/b> NASA Exoplanet Archive; UNITE program documentation; Fermi literature.<\/span><\/p>\n

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THE MATH OF ALIENS <\/b><\/h3>\n

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In 1961, astronomer Frank Drake proposed a simple question:<\/span><\/p>\n

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How many civilizations could exist in our galaxy right now?<\/b><\/p>\n

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The theory he proposed became the famous Drake Equation.<\/span><\/p>\n

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N = R* \u00d7 fp \u00d7 ne \u00d7 fl \u00d7 fi \u00d7 fc \u00d7 L<\/b><\/h4>\n

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The equation combines factors such as:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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