NASA is offering a six figure salary for an out of this world role: that of planetary protection officer. And it seems reasonable remuneration considering the prospective hire's responsibilities will include protecting Earth from extraterrestrial life (sort of).
Although NASA's new job opening sounds like something straight out of Men in Black, plenty of space agencies already employ planetary protection officers in a part-time or shared role capacity, Business Insider reports. However, only the European Space Agency and NASA employ a full-time planetary protection officer.
According to a job description posted on USA jobs, the new hire will focus on the "avoidance of organic-constituent and biological contamination in human and robotic space exploration." In other words: ensuring space missions don't end up polluting pristine planets and that extraterrestrial matter does not contaminate Earth. Read more...