NASA's playbook: what happens in the first 72 hours

Humanity’s closest thing to a first-contact plan is a few-page, non-binding SETI Post-Detection Protocol: verify the signal, tell the IAA/IAU and the UN Secretary-General, and don’t reply without “international consultation.” Problem: it’s basically a gentlemen’s agreement (Jill Tarter’s words), UNOOSA has no first-contact mandate, there’s no timeline, and nobody’s actually named as having authority to speak for Earth. Meanwhile the protocol mostly covers radio signals — not weird physical stuff like Oumuamua, which was spotted after it passed the Sun and sparked peer-reviewed debate (including Avi Loeb arguing an artificial origin couldn’t be ruled out). In 2026 terms, a private lab, company, or even a grad student could find something first and go public or transmit a message with zero legal barrier.