A NASA spokesman has denied claims made by Anonymous that the agency is about to announce the discovery of intelligent alien life.
According to a viral video posted online by the hacktivist group, a spokesman for NASA said we were on the verge of discovering we are not alone in the universe.
Professor Thomas Zurbuchen, said during one of the last meetings of the U.S. Science, Space and Technology committee was reported to have said:
Our civilisation is on the verge of discovering evidence of alien life in the cosmos.
Taking into account all of the different activities and missions that are searching for alien life, we are on the verge of making one of the most profound, unprecedented discoveries in history.
Anonymous used a range of evidence, such as the recent discovery of hydrogen on Saturn’s moon Enceladus, to suggest that the space agency would be making the big announcement very soon.
On their official website it said:
The evidence sure seems to imply that something is going on in the skies above.
It would cost a lot for spaceships and a continuous flow of taxes and black budget dollars could imply a rational that there is more than meets the eye and or that of public knowledge.
However, the spokesman at the centre of the video, Professor Zurbuchen, has taken to Twitter to shut down these claims.
In the tweets he stated:
Contrary to some reports, there’s no pending announcement from NASA regarding extraterrestrial life.
Are we alone in the universe? While we do not know yet, we have missions moving forward that may help answer that fundamental question.
Are we alone in the universe? While we do not know yet, we have missions moving forward that may help answer that fundamental question.
— Thomas Zurbuchen (@Dr_ThomasZ) June 26, 2017
Although Zurbuchen says there is ‘no pending announcement’, he does point towards future missions that may help to answer the big question.
So whilst the discovery of alien life may not be announced as soon as we hoped for, it may still happen in our lifetimes.
Or will Anonymous be proven to have been right all along?