A 9-year-old boy answered a call from NASA to protect Earth from aliens - and got an encouraging response to his job application.
"My name is Jack Davis and I would like to apply for the planetary protection officer job," the fourth-grader wrote in a letter. "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."
The job advertisement for a planetary protection officer explained that space missions sometimes introduce Earth organisms into other parts of the solar system.
In technical terms, the officer would assist with the "avoidance of organic-constituent and biological contamination in human and robotic space exploration." In bolstering his case for the job, Jack explained in his letter, "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."
Although the position "may not be in real-life what the title conjures up," NASA said it promotes "the responsible exploration of our solar system by preventing microbial contamination."
Jack received a letter from Dr. James L. Green, the director of NASA's planetary science division, saying the officer position was "very important work."
"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!" Green's letter says.
He also got a call from NASA's planetary research director, Jonathan Rall, to congratulate him on his interest.