The 2-page handout

The reading

America's space agency NASA has an exciting new job opening to protect Earth from aliens. The position is for a Planetary Protection Officer (PPO). The successful applicant will be responsible for making sure no life forms from outer space come to Earth. The PPO makes sure astronauts and space equipment do not come back from space with any alien bacteria. The position was posted on the usajobs.gov website. According to the post, the new PPO will get a yearly salary of up to $187,000. The job contract is for three years, but could be extended for an additional two years. It is one of the most unique job positions in the world. NASA only employs two PPOs. The job is only open to U.S. citizens and U.S. nationals.



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People who want to apply for the job must be well qualified. Candidates must have "broad engineering expertise" and have a degree in physical science, engineering or mathematics. The candidate must also show they have experience in "planning, executing, or overseeing elements of space programs of national significance". A final requirement is that the candidate has "skills in diplomacy that resulted in win-win solutions during extremely difficult and complex multilateral discussions". The new PPO will be responsible for planning several future NASA missions. One of these will be a trip to one of Jupiter's icy moons, Europa. The mission will search for signs of alien life on the moon.

Sources:

  • https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/474414000
  • http://nypost.com/2017/08/01/nasa-job-opening-to-protect-earth-from-aliens-has-6-figure-salary/
  • http://www.newsweek.com/nasa-hiring-planetary-protection-officer-save-earth-aliens-645254

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