"Are we alone?"
This question is frequently raised throughout the years and decades, as humanity wonder whether Earth is the only habitable planet in the entire universe. The question has sparked numerous theories, as well as stories and folklore.
But rarely do aliens make headlines as a national news.
On September 12th, "alien corpses" were shown to the congress in Mexico, and José Jaime Maussan Flota, a Mexican journalist and a television personality and an ufologist, is forced to testify about this under oath.
The self-described ufologist and UFO expert claimed that the two small corpses he presented in front of Mexican politicians at the country’s congress, were retrieved from Cusco, Peru.
Seeing what's inside the two encased glass display containers in Mexico City, ufologists around the world, as well as UFO conspiracy theorist community are rejoicing.
At the public hearing, Jaime Maussan first showed U.S. officials and members of the Mexican government several videos of "UFOs and unidentified anomalous phenomena."
After that, Maussan unveiled the alleged alien corpses.
Under oath, he claimed that the mummified specimens are "non-human" and not part of anything on Earth.
"These specimen are not part of our terrestrial evolution [...] These aren’t beings that were found after a UFO wreckage. They were found in diatom (algae) mines, and were later fossilized," he said.
Maussan also claimed that the two specimens had been studied by scientists at the Autonomous National University of Mexico (UNAM).
There, the scientists were able to conclude the age of the specimens radiocarbon dating, which are predicted to be more than 1,000 years old. The scientists then compared the specimens' DNA which known DNA samples, and found that over 30% of the specimens’ DNA was "unknown."
During the hearing Maussan also showed X-rays of the specimens, testifying under oath that one of the bodies is seen to have "eggs" inside, or structures resembling female ovaries.
The other specimen had seemingly artificial implants crafted from uncommon metals, such as osmium.
But what's worth noting here, Maussan has previously been associated with claims of discoveries that have later been debunked
Previously, Maussan claimed "alien" discoveries that include five mummies found in Peru in 2017. After further research, it was concluded that the specimens were human children.
And this time, the next day after the public hearing, Julieta Fierro, physics researcher at UNAM, stated that the university never endorsed such claims, and Maussan's data "made no sense."
On that same day, UNAM republished a September 2017 statement about a May 2017 Carbon 14 dating study by their LEMA lab for "a client" on "skin and brain tissue of approximately 0.5 grams", saying that " [...] under no circumstances do we draw conclusions about the origin of these samples." and " [...] any information implying the LEMA's involvement in any activity other than Carbon 14 dating is completely invalid."
So here, despite the event generated huge interest, and that the internet, as well as huge media publication began covering the topic and debating it, the Mexican Congress did not affirm that the materials presented by Maussan conclusively originated from "aliens."
Maussan debunked claims led to skepticism surrounding his assertions.
But still, before anything can be verified, more studies must be made, and thorough scientific rigor is necessary.
Throughout history, there are hundreds of reported sighting of unidentified flying objects, and claims about about close encounters or abductions.
But generally, UFO sighting are considered to include any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained, or encounters of unknown living organism in any way possible.
Upon investigation, most UFO sightings are identified as known objects or atmospheric phenomena, while a small number remain unexplained.
While UFO sighting are common, and can be traced back to at least 1450 BC, it's a lot rarer to see people claiming to have experienced encounters or abductions
And this publicized event in Mexico, can be considered the first time alien specimens are presented in front of government officials and presented in national television for everyone to see.