Use a d10 or d12 for the alien die.

I definitely wouldn't do it for the Normal level. I really like the difficulty as it is for that. But I could see using a d10 on my first attempt at Hard or Expert, as sort of an inbetween Normal and Hard level. In any case, that seems like a simple way to make the game a little easier, for those who want that.

I could also see that being an expansion tech kind of thing... Not sure what it would be called or represent, but to the effect that: "Place one satellite here. Use a d12 as the alien die for one task." Probably would need to be a "limit once per round" thing, otherwise would be too powerful.

Another option is to tell the app your using less players than you are.

It allows you access to the higher difficulties without the reduced time constraints.