Few days after NASA posted a job advertisement for a Planetary Protection Officer, who could protect Earth and its residents from alien invasion, a 9-year old applicant named Jack Davis applied for the job as a ‘Guardian of the Galaxy’.
Few days after NASA posted a job advertisement for a Planetary Protection Officer, who could protect Earth and its residents from alien invasion, a 9-year old applicant named Jack Davis applied for the job as a ‘Guardian of the Galaxy’.
He wrote to the space agency to explain, “My name is Jack Davis and I would like to apply for the planetary protection officer job. I may be nine but think I would be fit for the job. One of the reasons is my sister says I am an alien also I have seen almost all the space and alien movies I can see. I have also seen the show Marvel Agents of Shield and hope to see the movie Men in Black. I am great at video games. I am young, so I can learn to think like an Alien.”
Interestingly, Jack received a letter from Dr James L Green, the director of NASA's planetary science division which stated:
Dear Jack,
I hear you are a 'Guardian of the Galaxy' and that you're interested in being a NASA Planetary Protection Officer. That's great!
Our Planetary Protection Officer position is really cool and is very important work. It's about protecting Earth from tiny microbes when we bring back samples from the Moon, asteroids and Mars. It's also about protecting other planets and moons from our germs as we responsibly explore the Solar System.
We are always looking for bright future scientists and engineers to help us, so I hope you will study hard and do well in school. We hope to see you here at NASA one of these days!
Sincerely,
Dr. James L. Green
Director, Planetary Science Division
He also received a phone call from NASA’s Planetary Research Director, Jonathan Rall at NASA Headquarters in Washington, to congratulate him on his interest in the position.
NASA also explained that although the Planetary Protection Officer position may not be in real-life what the "title conjures up", it does play an important role in promoting the responsible exploration of the solar system by preventing microbial contamination of other planets and our own.
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