The White House had a question in July 1963, and it put it on paper. What, exactly, should the United States do if it discovered intelligent aliens in space? The answer, according to a declassified memorandum released May 8, 2026, by the Department of War under the PURSUE archive, was far from settled. The document, titled “59_214434_SP 16 [7.18.1963],” came from the National Aeronautics and Space Council and landed on the desk of Mr. Robert F. Packard at the State Department’s Office of International Scientific Affairs.
The memo’s author called it “miscellaneous thoughts on the question.” That is a deliberately understated phrase for a paper that grapples with first contact. The official record description says it contains “details relating to plans if alien intelligence is discovered, expanding scientific knowledge, the possibility of life on Mars, and diplomatic policy.” The summary is brief, but the text excerpt offers a clear window into how official Washington was thinking about the stars.
This was not a fringe exercise. The Executive Office of the President was asking. The question was policy, not science fiction. And the scientific ground had shifted dramatically in the years before 1963.
The memorandum itself lays out the old view. Up until a few decades earlier, it says, the idea of intelligent life beyond the solar system “seemed very improbable.” That belief rested on two pillars: scientific theory and religious doctrine. The dominant theory of planetary formation held that planets were born from a near-collision of two stars. Such events were rare. Very rare. That meant very few planetary systems existed. And without planets, there was nowhere for life to take hold.
By 1963, that theory was dead. The memorandum flatly states the situation had “vastly changed.” Astronomers had abandoned the near-collision model. New thinking suggested planetary systems were common, perhaps the rule rather than the exception. If planets were everywhere, the odds of life somewhere went up. Sharply.
The document does not name who wrote it. It does not say what decision was reached. But the timing is telling. July 1963 was the height of the space race. The Mercury program was wrapping up. The Apollo program was ramping up. Mariner 2 had flown past Venus six months earlier. Mars was next. The memo explicitly mentions “the possibility of life on Mars” as part of its considerations.
So the government was not just thinking about little green men in the abstract. It was thinking about the next robotic flyby. It was thinking about what happens if a camera sends back a picture of something that moves.
The memorandum also wades into the theological dimension. It notes that religious belief had reinforced the old scientific skepticism. If God created man in His image, the logic went, why would He bother with other intelligences? By 1963, that argument was fraying. The document treats the religious question as part of the background, not as a barrier to planning.
What remains striking is the sheer existence of the paper. This is not a leak or a rumor. It is an official record, released decades later, showing that the United States government was actively gaming out alien contact years before the public knew anything about it. The memo is addressed to the State Department’s science office, not to the Pentagon or the CIA. That suggests the initial framing was diplomatic, not military. What do you say to another intelligence? How do you handle the politics of discovery?
The document is 1.1 megabytes as a PDF. It was released by the Department of War, an agency that technically no longer exists under that name. The PURSUE archive is the vehicle. The date of release is May 8, 2026. The question posed in 1963 is still unanswered. No alien intelligence has been discovered. But the memo proves the question was asked, in writing, at the highest level of government, more than sixty years ago. And the answer was not “we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” The answer was to start planning.
