NASA Hiring - Planetary Protection Officer - Protect Earth from Alien Life!

And you laughed at MR!

NASA is seeking a Planetary Protection Officer, charged with protecting Earth from alien life.

It's an important Homeland Security job. Somebody has to prevent those damn aliens from completely taking over. (Of course, judges would probably declare a travel ban illegal.)

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Actually, the aliens in question are hypothetical alien microorganisms, brought back by space probes along with samples from other planets.

NASA's Office of Planetary Protection has a very informative website here:

https://planetaryprotection.nasa.gov/about

The job announcement is here:

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/474414000

https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/careers-employment/nasa-hq-planetary-protection-officer/

Planetary Protection seems to involve efforts to make sure that spacecraft do not carry Earth microorganisms to other planets, contaminating them. And conversely, making sure that spacecraft returning samples to Earth from other planets aren't carrying potentially dangerous extraterrestrial life, some analogue of our microorganisms. They say that NASA is obligated to do this due to federal requirements and international treaties.

Probably the best person for this job would be a microbiologist. Microorganisms are tiny, but they can be scary.

Hopefully if they hire you as a Planetary Protection Officer, you get a cool skin-tight green superhero suit and a green power ring.