Space Alien Race Question: NSC Memo on Discovery Protocols and Diplomatic Policy (July 1963)
Date
July 18, 1963; May 8, 2026 (release)
Document Type
Gov. Report
Authentication
Official PublicationIssuing Authority
Executive Office of the President / National Aeronautics and Space Council; filed in Department of State (NARA RG 59)
Summary
Memorandum dated July 18, 1963, from the Executive Office of the President, National Aeronautics and Space Council (SP 16), addressing the "space alien race question." The document outlines thoughts on protocols if alien intelligence is discovered, includes discussion of plans for expanding scientific knowledge, considers the possibility of life on Mars, and addresses diplomatic policy implications. Filed as Department of State decimal file SP 16, the memo represents one of the most explicit known government planning documents addressing extraterrestrial contact protocols from the early space age. Released via PURSUE Release 1, May 8, 2026.
Significance
One of the most explicit known U.S. government planning documents to directly address the "space alien race question" as a policy matter. Written under the Kennedy administration during the Space Race, the document's consideration of discovery protocols and diplomatic policy implications demonstrates that at the highest levels of the Executive Office, alien contact was treated as a planning contingency requiring inter-agency policy coordination - not merely a scientific speculation.