Nasa hiring ‘planetary protection officer’ to defend Earth from alien contamination – so, is there something they aren’t telling us?

NASA is on the hunt for a “planetary protection officer” who can protect humankind from alien bugs hitching a ride to Earth.

It’s looking for a recruit who can help stem the spread of extraterrestrial debris when spacecraft return from space.

Vice versa, they’ll also be tasked with making sure we don’t pollute other planets and space rocks with our own grubby Earthling species, too.

The US space agency already has a set of rules in place to make sure this doesn’t happen but they are looking for someone who can make sure astronauts and space officials stick to them.

The job advert states: “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 intended is 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.”

Whether that’s spent zipping across space is unclear.

It might sound like Nasa knows something we don’t – but the job is likely more focussed on stopping us from contaminating planets than the other way around.

There are concerns that human missions to Mars or asteroids might wreak havoc on potential life that may exist there – no matter how small.