NASA offers 6 figure salary package to protect the Earth from aliens

earth-from-space

Earth as seen on July 6, 2015 from a distance of one million miles by a NASA scientific camera aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory spacecraft. Credits: NASA

Nasa is hiring someone who can defend Earth from alien contamination. The full-time role of “planetary protection officer” will involve ensuring that humans in space do not contaminate planets and moons, as well as alien matter infecting Earth. The pay is a six-figure salary, as much as $187,000 (£141,000) a year plus benefits.

“Planetary protection is concerned with the avoidance of organic-constituent and biological contamination in human and robotic space exploration,” NASA wrote in the job posting on its website late last month. Other duties include advising Safety Mission Assurance officials on planetary protection matters and ensuring compliance by robotic and human spaceflight missions.

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The role is open to those with “broad engineering experience” and a willingness to travel. It is not for those shy of responsibility, however. The Planetary Protection Officer role is one of just two such full-time positions in the world, according to Business Insider, and comes at the requirement of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. The other position is with the European Space Agency.

Applications are open until August 14, 2017. The post is for an initial period of three years, though may be extended for an additional two.

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