When Dr. Makenzie Lystrup was sworn in as the brand new director of NASA’s Goddard House Flight Heart final week, she did not take her oath of workplace on the Bible or the U.S. Structure, however quite on a tome revered by house fans all over the place: Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot. From a report: The e-book, revealed in 1994, is called after an iconic picture of Earth, snapped by the Voyager I probe, that depicts the planet as a small speck smothered by the vacancy of house. That photograph impressed astronomer Carl Sagan to put in writing: “Look once more at that dot. That is right here. That is dwelling. That is us.” For a lot of, the e-book serves as a reminder of humanity’s place within the universe and the necessity to protect our dwelling planet, which makes it much like holy scripture for a newly appointed NASA director. On Thursday, when Lystrup selected to position her left hand on a duplicate of Sagan’s e-book whereas being sworn in by NASA Administrator Invoice Nelson, a photographer captured the second, and NASA Goddard’s social media shared the picture. The structure doesn’t require that authorities officers be sworn in utilizing a specific textual content, simply that they “shall be sure by Oath or Affirmation, to help this Structure.” Most U.S. politicians and officers find yourself utilizing the Bible.
