The Committee on Planetary Protection (CoPP) monitors progress implementing the planetary protection guidelines associated with priority programs and missions identified in the National Academies ...

Protecting planets from extraterrestrial invasion might sound like a job that only exists in science fiction. But NASA recently posted a "Help Wanted" ad for exactly this position, under the name ...

More than 50 years after Neil Armstrong first walked on the Moon, space exploration has become almost commonplace. The record for most space launches in a single year has been broken every year for ...

The job title makes it sound like a job for Bruce Willis or Ben Affleck, but what NASA wants in a Planetary Protection Officer is more brains, less brawn. According to the job description, the ...

HOUSTON—The concept of planetary protection—the prevention of life forms on other planets from infecting Earth and preventing terrestrial life forms from contaminating other worlds—has a long history.

With an increasing number of space missions targeting various celestial bodies, including Mars, Europa, and the Moon, the importance of maintaining the integrity of these environments while protecting ...

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is looking to hire its first-ever Planetary Protection Officer to protect against any alien life that might hitch a ride back to Earth on one ...