To the public opinion.
Last Tuesday, September 12, 2023, the public hearing "Unidentified Anomalous Aerial Phenomena in Mexico" was organized in the Chamber of Deputies of the Mexican Congress. In this forum, supposed physical evidence and anecdotal statements of the existence of extraterrestrial or non-human intelligent life, and of repeated visits by advanced extraterrestrial civilizations to our planet, were presented.
Although the interest in studying the possibility and existence of life outside our planet is legitimate and of enormous interest to the scientific community, to date we do not have any clear evidence of its existence, despite the intense efforts made by the world’s scientists to explore these issues. There neither is any evidence so far of the presence on Earth of non-human technology, nor of non-human species with intelligence capable of technological applications. Moreover, the physical evidence presented in Congress has previously been classified as fraudulent.
The fact that we still do not have evidence of life outside of Earth does not diminish our interest in its exploration, which is continually pursued by different approaches, such as the search for exoplanets and the study of the chemistry in these systems through spectroscopic analysis of their light, space exploration and robotic missions within the Solar System, the search for extraterrestrial signals, monitoring of minor bodies in the Solar System, modeling of climates and environments in laboratories, and analysis of meteorite samples, among many others.
Furthermore, a fundamental part of scientific work is the communication of its results to society at large. If science is not communicated, it dies. The scientific community is the first one interested in its results being widely known, since society entrusts scientists to know the world in which we live with increasing depth, and to disseminate this knowledge. Thus, it is absurd to assume that the scientific community would hide the discovery of extraterrestrial life from the general public if it were to be achieved.
We regret that the Chamber of Deputies would listen to journalists without scientific training, casting aside the valuable professional experience of the scientific community, whose work is dedicated to serve the nation. We call on the Powers of the Union and the general public to inform themselves responsibly, with the advice of the relevant academic bodies.
Instituto de Radioastronomía y Astrofísica
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
About IRyA, UNAM
The Instituto de Radioastronomía y Astrofísica (IRyA), or Institute for Radioastronomy and Astrophysics is an academic unit at UNAM, Campus Morelia, Mexico. We perform high-level and high-impact research in the areas of interstellar medium, star formation, evolved stars, high energy astrophysics, Galactic dynamics and structure, extragalactic astronomy and cosmology. We contribute to the education of high-level human resources through a postgraduate program, and we have close contact with society through diverse outreach programs.
If you are interested in our Institute, visit the English version of our webpage, www.irya.unam.mx/web/en
Media contact:
Dr. René A. Ortega Minakata
Outreach and Science Communication
IRyA UNAM Campus Morelia
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Text: IRyA UNAM