Clickbait Frenzy Over 50 Year Old NASA Planetary Protection Officer Position

- NASA is hiring a planetary protection office to save Earth from aliens, Newsweek
- NASA has a job opening for someone to defend Earth from aliens -- and it pays a six-figure salary, Business Insider
- NASA wants to pay someone astronomical sums to do something that is out of this world, The Blaze
- NASA Hiring 'Planetary Protection Officer' to Prevent Alien Invasion, NBC 6
- You Can Now Apply For a 6-Figure NASA Job Defending Earth From Alien Contamination, Money Magazine
- Leave your tin-foil hat at home: NASA needs a Planetary Protection Officer, WTOP

- Planetary Protection Officer (job description), USAJobs

"This position is assigned to Office of Safety and Mission Assurance for Planetary Protection. Planetary protection is concerned with the avoidance of organic-constituent and biological contamination in human and robotic space exploration. NASA maintains policies for planetary protection applicable to all space flight missions that may intentionally or unintentionally carry Earth organisms and organic constituents to the planets or other solar system bodies, and any mission employing spacecraft, which are intended to return to Earth and its biosphere with samples from extraterrestrial targets of exploration. This policy is based on federal requirements and international treaties and agreements."

Keith's note: All these goofy clickbait headlines about aliens. So little journalistic or editorial research. This position was created in 1967. It was originally called "Planetary Quarantine Officer" and Larry Hall was the first person to fill the position. In 1986 the position's name was changed to "Planetary Protection Officer". NASA has had someone in this position for half a century. The salary range is standard government scale. Fake news.

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