Mazlan was reappointed as UNOOSA director in 2007 by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and left Angkasa to return to the post that December. At UNOOSA she dealt with issues of international co-operation in space, prevention of collisions and space debris, use of space-based remote sensing platforms for sustainable development, co-ordination of space law between countries, and the risks posed by near-earth asteroids, among other topics. In September 2010, several news sources reported the United Nations would soon appoint Othman to be the ambassador for extraterrestrial contact, apparently basing their claims on remarks she made suggesting that the UN co-ordinate any international response to such contact, and her scheduled appearance on a Royal Society panel that October, "Towards a scientific and societal agenda on extra-terrestrial life." However, a UN spokesperson dismissed the reports as "nonsense", dismissing any plan to expand the mandate of UNOOSA, and in an email to The Guardian, Othman stated, in compliance to the wishes of the United Nations, "It sounds really cool but I have to deny it." She later explained that her talk would illustrate how extraterrestrial affairs could become a topic of discussion at the UN, using as an example the advocacy that led to UN discussion of near-Earth objects and space debris. After retiring from the United Nations, Othman served on advisory committees and boards involving science and space, taught as a visiting professor, and became a senior fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia. In September 2017, she was named Director of the International Science Council (ISC) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Honours In the 1997 Agong's honours list, Tuanku Ja'afar, the tenth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, conferred the federal decoration and order Panglima Jasa Negara (for meritorious service) on Mazlan, granting her the honorific "Datuk". Also in 1997, Mazlan's alma mater, the University of Otago, awarded her the degree of Honorary Doctor of Science. In 2009, for "her work in developing astronomy education in Malaysia and her leading national and international role in space science", the Institute of Physics awarded Mazlan its President's Medal. In 2013, Mazlan received the "Polarstern-Preis" (Polarstar Award) from the Austrian Space Forum for her engagement to fascinate for space above and beyond duty. : Officer of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (KMN) (1994) Commander of the Order of Meritorious Service (PJN) – Datuk (1997) Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the