Aliens who landed on earth and asked: 'Take me to your leader' would be directed to Mrs Othman.(telegraph.co.uk) |
A space ambassador could be appointed by the United Nations to act as the first point of contact for aliens trying to communicate with Earth. Mazlan Othman, a Malaysian astrophysicist, is set to be tasked with co-ordinating humanity’s response if and when extraterrestrials make contact. Aliens who landed on earth and asked: “Take me to your leader” would be directed to Mrs Othman. She will set out the details of her proposed new role at a Royal Society conference in Buckinghamshire next week. The 58-year-old is expected to tell delegates that the proposal has been prompted by the recent discovery of hundreds of planets orbiting other stars, which is thought to make the discovery of extraterrestrial life more probable than ever before. Mrs Othman is currently head of the UN’s little known Office for Outer Space Affairs (Unoosa). In a recent talk to fellow scientists, she said: “The continued search for extraterrestrial communication, by several entities, sustains the hope that some day human kind will receive signals from extraterrestrials. “When we do, we should have in place a coordinated response that takes into account all the sensitivities related to the subject. The UN is a ready-made mechanism for such coordination.” Opinion is divided about how future extraterrestrial visitors should be greeted. Under the Outer Space Treaty on 1967, which Unoosa oversees, UN members agreed to protect Earth against contamination by alien species by “sterilising” them. Mrs Othman is understood to support a more tolerant approach. But Professor Stephen Hawking has warned that alien interlopers should be treated with caution. He said: “I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. The outcome for us would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.” (Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Web site.) (Agencies) |
聯(lián)合國將任命首位“星際外交官”,代表人類與試圖和地球聯(lián)系的外星人進(jìn)行最初接觸。 擔(dān)當(dāng)這一重任的是馬來西亞天體物理學(xué)家馬斯藍(lán)?奧斯瑪,她的職責(zé)是,假設(shè)有外星人接觸地球時(shí),協(xié)調(diào)人類的應(yīng)對行動(dòng)。 那些降臨到地球,并要求“見領(lǐng)導(dǎo)”的外星人將由奧斯瑪夫人接待。 她將于下周在英國白金漢郡舉行的皇家學(xué)會會議上詳細(xì)闡釋她的新職責(zé)。 據(jù)稱,現(xiàn)年58歲的奧斯瑪將告訴與會代表,提議增設(shè)這一職位是由于近期發(fā)現(xiàn)了數(shù)百個(gè)新的恒星系,極大增加了發(fā)現(xiàn)外星生命的可能性。 奧斯瑪夫人目前是聯(lián)合國外太空事務(wù)辦公室(Unoosa)最高負(fù)責(zé)人,這一機(jī)構(gòu)并不為公眾熟知。 她最近在與科學(xué)家友人的談話中說:“很多機(jī)構(gòu)都在不斷尋找與外星生命溝通的渠道,很可能有一天我們會接收到來自外星人的信號?!?/p> “當(dāng)這一天到來時(shí),我們必須能夠立即作出合理有序的應(yīng)對,將所有敏感因素考慮在內(nèi),而聯(lián)合國正是一個(gè)現(xiàn)成的協(xié)調(diào)機(jī)構(gòu)。” 有關(guān)未來如何接待外星訪客一直存有爭議。根據(jù)1967年由外太空事務(wù)辦公室監(jiān)督制定的《外太空條約》,聯(lián)合國成員國同意通過使他們“絕育”的方法保護(hù)地球免于受到外星物種的污染。 據(jù)稱奧斯瑪夫人支持采用更加寬容的方式。 而斯蒂芬?霍金教授已提醒大家,應(yīng)謹(jǐn)慎對待外星“擅入者”。 他說:“我猜他們會生活在巨大的飛船里,耗盡了本星球資源。他們闖入地球就像哥倫布發(fā)現(xiàn)新大陸,而我們的遭遇就像那些悲慘的印第安人。” 相關(guān)閱讀 (中國日報(bào)網(wǎng)英語點(diǎn)津 Julie 編輯Helen) |
Vocabulary: ready-made: extremely convenient or ideally suited(現(xiàn)成的,做好的) interloper: an intruder(闖入者,干涉他人事務(wù)者) |