Very cute, NASA; just make sure not to run afoul of the child-labor laws.
After posting a job listing earlier this week for a Planetary Protection Officer, NASA shared a response on Friday from Jack Davis, a nine-year-old, self-proclaimed “Guardian of the Galaxy.”
In his application, the fourth-grader from New Jersey declared, “I may be nine but I think I would be fit for the job.”
So what makes young Mr. Davis qualified for the position, in his own estimation?
“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,” Davis wrote.
Presumably, Davis’ plucky bid for employment won’t earn him the gig anytime soon. However, it did earn him a response from NASA’s director, planetary science division Dr. James L. Green, who wrote back, “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!”
It’s nice to know that at least one employer still bothers to send out rejection letters these days.
According to the job listing, whoever becomes NASA’s Planetary Protection Officer will have the job of making sure that “organic-constituent and biological contamination” doesn’t end up on the space agency’s ships.
This job will cover both manned missions containing astronauts and Earth specimens and robotic missions — like the Mars Rover missions, where samples from other planets may be collected. Candidates must also have previous experience managing space programs and demonstrate “skills in diplomacy that resulted in win-win solutions during extremely difficult and complex multilateral discussion.”
In case you’re thinking of applying yourself, the salary range for the position is $124,000 to $187,000.Which we’re guessing is a lot more than Jack Davis’ allowance.