National

9-year-old writes letter to NASA asking to be considered for a job

A 9-year-old alien enthusiast from New Jersey sent a handwritten letter to NASA asking to be considered for a job working with astronauts.

In the letter, dated Aug. 3, fourth-grader Jack Davis asks to apply for a planetary protection officer position at NASA. He writes in the letter provided to ABC News by his family that despite his young age, he thinks he would be "fit for the job."

"One of the reasons is my sister thinks I'm an alien," Jack writes before revealing the source of his expertise. "Also, I have seen almost all the space and alien movies I can see."

Jack ends the letter stating the other attributes that would make him perfect for the position, such as his "great" video game skills and his youth, which will make it easy to "learn to think like an alien." He then signs the letter, "Jack, Guardian of the Galaxy."

In an interview, Jack told ABC News that he wrote the letter because it thought it would be "really cool" to work for NASA.

TRENDING STORIES:

"I feel like -- I am the only one who really wants a job at NASA this young," he said.

The position of NASA planetary protection officer pays $124,406 to $187,000 per year, according to the USAJOBS website.

Duties include planning and coordinating activities related to NASA mission planetary protection needs and oversight of their implementation by NASA's space-flight missions.

The recent announcement of the position -- which was created in the 1960s -- has "generated a lot of excitement in the public," NASA said in a statement.

"Although the Planetary Protection Officer position may not be in real-life what the title conjures up, it does play an important role in promoting the responsible exploration of our solar system by preventing microbial contamination of other planets and our own," the statement read.

Dr. James L. Green, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division, promptly responded to Jack's inquiry, writing that the "position is really cool and is very important work."

"It's about protecting Earth from tiny microbes when we bring back samples from the Moon, asteroids and Mars," Green wrote in his response, which NASA provided to ABC News. "It's also about protecting other planets and moons from our germs as we responsibly explore the Solar System."

Green then tells Jack that he hopes he will "study hard and do well in school."

"We are always looking for bright scientists and engineers to help us...." he wrote. "We hope to see you here at NASA one of these days!"

In an email to NASA today, Jack's father, Bryan Davis, wrote that he and his family are "big fans of NASA" and that he posted a photo of his son's letter on Facebook thinking his friends "would get a smile out of it."

"Jack, of course, is pretty sure he’ll get the job," Davis wrote in the email to NASA, which he shared with ABC News. "I’m trying to manage expectations with the hope he might receive a response letter in the mail."

The letter was mailed to the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Davis said. NASA also called Jack Friday morning to thank him for applying, Davis told ABC News.

ABC News' Jamila Huxtable contributed to this report.

Cox Media Group

0

Most Read