NASA took the time to respond to a 9-year-old "Guardian of the Galaxy" who applied to fill the agency's opening for its planetary protection officer position.

The job is to protect the Earth from potential contamination before, during and after any space travel, and it is a job NASA says it has had since the 1960s.

"Planetary protection is concerned with the avoidance of organic-constituent and biological contamination in human and robotic space exploration," the job posting reads.

While this job posting inspired most of the internet to pull the Will Smith "Independence Day" memes and gifs out of the vault, Jack Davis, a fourth-grader from New Jersey, quickly sent in his application. This prompted a phone call from Jonathan Rall, NASA's Planetary Research Director, and letter from NASA's Planetary Science Director Jim Green.

Letters exchanged between NASA and space enthusiast Jack Davis, a fourth-grade student in New Jersey.

"At NASA, we love to teach kids about space and inspire them to be the next generation of explorers," Green, who penned the letter to Davis, said in a news release. "Think of it as a gravity assist -- a boost that may positively and forever change a person's course in life, and our footprint in the universe."

The job is posted and open to all American citizens and nationals and it pays between $124,406 and $187,000 per year. Another perk of the job is that it comes with the ominous security clearance of "Secret."

Qualifications for the position include broad engineering expertise and possess advanced knowledge of planetary protection, among others. Applicants should either have a degree in physical science, engineer, or mathematics, or a combination of education and experience.

The position will start as a three-year appointment with the chances of extending it by two years. Whoever is hired also could be subjected to a one-year probationary period.

"Although the Planetary Protection Officer position may not be in real-life what the title conjures up, NASA says, "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."