A United States law passed On 16 July 1969 that made it illegal for the public to come in contact with extra-terrestrials or their vehicles - Title 14, Section 1211 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Anyone found guilty of such contact would face up to one year imprisonment and a fine of $5,000. Also, any individual who had been "exposed" could be quarantined under armed guard by the NASA administrator without a hearing.

As of 1991 the law has mysteriously vanished from the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, with only the cryptic legend "Reserved" to be found where 14 CFR Part 1211 used to be. NASA public affairs specialist Elsie Weigel, stated that NASA removed the regulation in April 1991 "because we never found any aliens." So, officially the Extraterrestrial Exposure Law "has served its purpose and is no longer in keeping with our policy." NASA has "reserved" Section 1211, perhaps so that similar regulations can be reinstated if the agency ever sends humans to another celestial body, or brings back samples via an unmanned probe.