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NASA official takes oath of office with hand on Carl Sagan book [1]

['David Pescovitz']

Date: 2023-04-11

Last week, Makenzie Lystrup was sworn in as the new director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. She's the first woman director there. In a wonderful gesture, Lystrup chose not to swear on a bible or the US Constitution, both common choices during governmental swearing-in ceremonies. Instead, Lystrup placed her hand on a copy of Carl Sagan's 1994 stone cold classic book Pale Blue Dot. From Yahoo:

The book, published in 1994, is named after an iconic image of Earth, snapped by the Voyager I probe, that depicts the planet as a small speck smothered by the emptiness of space. That photo inspired astronomer Carl Sagan to write: "Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us." For many, the book serves as a reminder of humanity's place in the universe and the need to preserve our home planet, which makes it similar to holy scripture for a newly appointed NASA director.

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[1] Url: https://boingboing.net/2023/04/11/nasa-official-takes-oath-of-office-with-hand-on-carl-sagan-book.html

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