No, There’s Not an “Alien Ambassador” at the UN

When aliens invade our planet, will the first person they meet be an obscure UN representative?

The United Nations, tackling head-on the problem of what to do if an alien says “take me to your leader”, is poised to designate a specific individual for the task.

Some would argue that the job should fall to the US president, the leaders of Russia or the European Union. Others might suggest the Pope. One thing is certain: humanity’s lack of a leader would not make a good impression.

Instead the UN is set to select [Mazlan Othman] an obscure Malaysian astrophysicist who is head of its little-known Office for Outer Space Affairs (Unoosa)

A lot of bloggers are linking to that story but—alas—it turns out to be too good to be true. “It sounds really cool but I have to deny it,” Othman told The Guardian . She will be attending a conference next week, but she’ll be talking about how the world deals with “near-Earth objects.”

Since Dwight Eisenhower was the first official representative to meet with the aliens when they visited in 1954 , the responsibility to greet the visitors, hide them at Area 51, and initiate the cover-up, will probably fall to our current president.