New Delhi: George Aldrich is no ordinary man. One, he works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the world's premiere space agency. However, it is not his employer that sets him apart.
Instead, it is his nature of work at NASA which he has been following steadfastly for the past 40 years. This unique employee at NASA has a critical, but probably the weirdest job in the world. Call him a master sniffer for Aldrich's job is to sniff stuff before they are packed for use by astronauts in space.
Aldrich has spent nearly 40 years smelling all objects before it goes in the bags of cosmonauts. A typical day at his job involves ensuring that there is no odour in objects such as books, hats, glues, watches and more.
"My friends and family think I'm a little crazy," admits Aldrich who has been working at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Centre for 38 years now.
Weird it may be, but Aldrich's job plays a vital role in every mission. According to experts, even the most insignificant of smells can hang in space for years together and could cause harm to the health of moonwalkers.
But the ability of this sniffer is not a mental disease but a way of earning his living. A study on Aldrich shows that he can detect more than 10,000 different smells by using 400 nasal receptors.
If Aldrich fails to identify even one problematic odour, the whole of NASA's mission could go in danger.
Here is the video which will describe George Aldrich's work:
