A Real-Life Man in Black

I discovered that Huffington Post has a weird news section which reports on such things as a calf that's a dead ringer for Gene Simmons. Recently the newspaper featured a unique listing from NASA for a planetary protection officer

. . .who would help thwart the spread of extraterrestrial life ― 'intentionally or unintentionally' ― on Earth and to outside solar systems.

'Planetary protection is concerned with the avoidance of organic-constituent and biological contamination in human and robotic space exploration,' the job listing states. That basically means preventing extraterrestrial life forces ― no matter their size ― from spreading during space travel.


There are only two positions like this in the world, the other being with the European Space Agency.

Among the job listing requirements are frequency of travel and proven diplomatic skills in negotiating win-win solutions.

For the job listing itself, see https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDe....

For the full text of the article, see http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/na....

(By the way, if you would like to see the calf that looks like Gene Simmons, please click here: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/ca....)

Reprinted from my Goodreads blog.