The alien quarantine law

: XTRA-TERRESTRIAL EXPOSURE LAW
[...]
: On October 5, 1982, Dr. Brain [Brian?] T. Clifford of the Pentagon
: announced at a press conference ("The Star", New York, Oct. 5, 1982)
: that contact between U.S. citizens and extra-terrestrials or their
: vehicles is strictly illegal.
:
: According to a law already on the books:
:
: (Title 14, Section 1211 of the Code of Federal Regulations, adopted
: on July 16, 1969, before the Apollo moon shots), anyone guilty of
: such contact automatically becomes a wanted criminal to be jailed
: for one year and fined $5,000.  The NASA administrator is empowered
: to determine with or without a hearing that a person or object has
: been "extraterrestrially exposed" and impose an indeterminate
: quarantine under armed guard, which could not be broken even by
: court order.

 Although nobody was ever dragged into quarantine against his will by force of this law, the law was created to do just that. An interesting story arose during the time when this building where I'm sitting right now was the Lunar Receiving Laboratory for the Apollo Program. The LRL was constructed to quarantine the astronauts, the lunar samples, and even the Command Module after they all returned to the Earth. In addition to the astronauts, a flight surgeon and several scientists and other workers entered quarantine voluntarilly.

 This was back in the bad old days of male-only flight crews, and female flight surgeons were hard to find. However, a female laboratory worker was accidentally exposed to the lunar samples, and she had to be quarantined, too, along with all the men. (As far as I know, she's still in the area; she married a long-time NASA bureaucrat.) As far as I know, she went along peacefully, but the law was in place to force people who accidentally contacted lunar materials into quarantine for the good of all mankind.

 Back then, we didn't know that the moon is completely lifeless, so we carefully set up a quarantine system to prevent any living things, especially microorganisms, from contaminating the earth. This law is a relic from those times, but it will still be useful for quarantining samples from Mars in the (all-too-distant) future.

 So contact with aliens or their spacecraft isn't illegal, but the contactees would have to be quarantined to prevent harm to the rest of us. This has never been used as a weapon against people claiming contact with UFO's and space aliens. If contact did happen, we're presumably the ones who would deal with this issue. But right now, nobody here is at all worried about it.

     "[I swear] I will support and defend the Constitution of the
      United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I
      will bear faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this
      obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of
      evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties
      of the office on which I am about to enter.  So help me God."

        -- Standard Form 61, Appointment Affidavits, the oath taken
           by all new Federal employees.

1211.100 Title 14 - Aeronautics and Space
Part 1211 - Extra-terrestrial Exposure
1211.100 - Scope

This part establishes: (a) NASA policy, responsibility and authority
to guard the Earth against any harmful contamination or adverse
changes in its environment resulting from personnel, spacecraft
and other property returning to the Earth after landing on or coming
within the atmospheric envelope of a celestial body; and (b) security
requirements, restrictions and safeguards that are necessary in
the interest of national security.

1211.101 - Applicability

The provisions of this part to all NASA manned and unmanned space
missions which land or come within the atmospheric envelope of a
celestial body and return to the Earth.

1211.102 - Definitions

(a) "NASA" and the "Administrator" mean, respectively the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration and the administrator of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration or his authorized
representative.

(b) "Extra-terrestrially exposed" means the state of condition of
any person, property, animal or other form of life or matter
whatever, who or which has:

(1) Touched directly or come within the atmospheric envelope or
any other celestial body; or

(2) Touched directly or been in close proximity to (or been exposed
indirectly to ) any person, property, animal or other form of life
or matter who or which has been extra-terrestrially exposed by
virtue of paragraph (b)(1) of this section.

For example, if person or thing "A" touches the surface of the
Moon, and on "A's" return to Earth, "B" touches "A" and, subsequently,
"C" touches "B", all of these - "A" through "C" inclusive - would
be extra-terrestrially exposed ("A" and "B" directly; "C" indirectly).

(c) "Quarantine" means the detention, examination and decontamination
of any persons, property, animal or other form of life or matter
whatever that is extra-terrestrially exposed, and includes the
apprehension or seizure of such person, property, animal or other
form of life or matter whatever.

(d) "Quarantine period" means a period of consecutive calendar days
as may be established in accordance with 1211.104 (a).

(a) Administrative actions. The Administrator or his designee..shall
in his discretion:

(1) Determine the beginning and duration of a quarantine period
with respect to any space mission; the quarantine period as it
applies to various life forms will be announced.

(2) Designate in writing quarantine officers to exercise quarantine
authority.

(3) Determine that a particular person, property, animal, or other
form of life or matter whatever is extra- terrestrially exposed
and quarantine such person, property, animal, or other form of life
or matter whatever. The quarantine may be based only on a determination,
with or without the benefit of a hearing, that there is probable
cause to believe that such person, property, animal or other form
of life or matter whatever is extra- terrestrially exposed.

(4) Determine within the United States or within vessels or vehicles
of the United States the place, boundaries, and rules of operation
of necessary quarantine stations.

(5) Provide for guard services by contract or otherwise, as many
be necessary, to maintain security and inviolability of quarantine
stations and quarantined persons, property, animals or other form
of life or matter whatever.

(6) Provide for the subsistence, health and welfare of persons
quarantined under the provisions of this part.

(7) Hold such hearings at such times, in such manner and for such
purposes as may be desirable or necessary under this part, including
hearings for the purpose of creating a record for use in making
any determination under this part for the purpose of reviewing any
such determination.

(b) (3) During any period of announced quarantine, no person shall
enter or depart from the limits of the quarantine station without
permission of the cognizant NASA officer. During such period, the
posted perimeter of a quarantine station shall be secured by armed
guard.

(b) (4) Any person who enters the limits of any quarantine station
during the quarantine period shall be deemed to have consented to
the quarantine of his person if it is determined that he is or has
become extra-terrestrially exposed.

(b) (5) At the earliest practicable time, each person who is
quarantined by NASA shall be given a reasonable opportunity to
communicate by telephone with legal counsel or other persons of
his choice.

1211.107 Court or other process

(a) NASA officers and employees are prohibited from discharging
from the limits of a quarantine station any quarantined person,
property, animal or other form of life or matter whatever during
order or other request, order or demand an announced quarantine
period in compliance with a subpoena, show cause or any court or
other authority without the prior approval of the General Counsel
and the Administrator.

(b) Where approval to discharge a quarantined person, property,
animal or other form of life or matter whatever in compliance with
such a request, order or demand of any court or other authority is
not given, the person to whom it is directed shall, if possible,
appear in court or before the other authority and respectfully
state his inability to comply, relying for his action on this

1211.107.

1211.108 Violations

Whoever willfully violates, attempts to violate, or conspires to
violate any provision of this part or any regulation or order issued
under this part or who enters or departs from the limits of a
quarantine station in disregard of the quarantine rules or regulations
or without permission of the NASA quarantine officer shall be fined
not more that $5,000 or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.

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