Fear of space has grown alongside space programs. Worries about asteroid strikes and over-militarization lean into deeper fears about space as the unknown.
In recent years, the proliferation of conspiracy theories amid escalating climate disasters and their aftermath has become an alarming trend.
Too much background noise about UFOs can get in the way of legitimate science communication about the possibility of finding microbial extraterrestrial life. Astrobiology, the science dealing with such matters, has a far less effective publicity machine than UFOlogy.
