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Category: Astrobiology

Half of the white orb of Europa, with red streaks across it.

Why Send a Poem Into Space?

Posted by: Andrew Breiner

This is a guest post by Sheri Wells-Jensen, Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, Exploration, and Scientific Innovation at the Kluge Center. Wells-Jensen is Associate Professor in the Department of English at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. A linguist with research interests in phonetics, braille, language creation, and disability …

Sweeping view from the floor of a great room, looking upwards past marble columns and arches to a grand golden-colored dome

Of Astronettes and Parastronauts

Posted by: Andrew Breiner

This is a guest post by Sheri Wells-Jensen, Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, Exploration, and Scientific Innovation at the Kluge Center. Wells-Jensen is Associate Professor in the Department of English at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. A linguist with research interests in phonetics, braille, language creation, and disability …

Sweeping view from the floor of a great room, looking upwards past marble columns and arches to a grand golden-colored dome

Announcing a Call for Applications to the Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, Exploration, and Scientific Innovation

Posted by: Andrew Breiner

This is a guest post by Kluge Center Program Assistant Sophia Zahner. The Kluge Center is pleased to invite interested scholars to apply to the Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, Exploration, and Scientific Innovation or to pass this invitation on to a qualified colleague. As a partnership between NASA’s Astrobiology Program …

Sweeping view from the floor of a great room, looking upwards past marble columns and arches to a grand golden-colored dome

The Kluge Center: A Place for Conversations on the Future of Democracy

Posted by: John Haskell

No one needs reminding that democracy in the US, Europe, and elsewhere is under stress. Led by Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden, the Kluge Center has hosted some of the greatest thinkers from the academy and leading practitioners in the political and policymaking world for conversations on the future of democracy. In fact, the …

Sweeping view from the floor of a great room, looking upwards past marble columns and arches to a grand golden-colored dome

Earthrise and the First Earth Day, 50 Years Later

Posted by: Andrew Breiner

The first Earth Day was celebrated 50 years ago, on April 22, 1970. On that day, millions of Americans participated in demonstrations and clean-up projects, calling for a new approach to protecting the environment. It was meant to be a teaching moment regarding the importance of our role as caretakers of the environment. It continues …

Sweeping view from the floor of a great room, looking upwards past marble columns and arches to a grand golden-colored dome

Watch: A Celebration of Earthrise

Posted by: Andrew Breiner

The Earth, blue and luminous, seems to rise above the moon’s surface against the vast blackness of space in the now-iconic photo “Earthrise.” Taken on December 24, 1968, aboard Apollo 8 — the first crewed spacecraft to orbit the moon — the image almost immediately captured the world’s imagination. Since then, it has been credited …

Sweeping view from the floor of a great room, looking upwards past marble columns and arches to a grand golden-colored dome

Reflecting on Earthrise

Posted by: Andrew Breiner

Bruce Clarke is the Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, as well as Paul Whitfield Horn Professor of Literature and Science at Texas Tech University. On April 23, Clarke will host a discussion titled Earthrise: Celebrating the Photograph that Changed (How We View) the World at 4pm in room LJ-119 at the …

Sweeping view from the floor of a great room, looking upwards past marble columns and arches to a grand golden-colored dome

Former Astrobiology Chair Steven J. Dick Receives 2019 PROSE Award

Posted by: Andrew Breiner

The Kluge Center is proud to congratulate Steven J. Dick, 2013 Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology on winning a 2019 PROSE award for Cosmology and Astronomy from the Association of American Publishers (AAP). Read their announcement and see the other winners here. Dick won the award for his 2018 book “Astrobiology, …

Sweeping view from the floor of a great room, looking upwards past marble columns and arches to a grand golden-colored dome

Life as it Could Be: A Conversation with Luis Campos

Posted by: Dan Turello

Fourth Astrobiology Chair Luis Campos began his tenure at the Kluge Center on October 3. A historian of science, his most recent book is “Radium and the Secret of Life” (University of Chicago Press, 2015). He will spend his fellowship year at the Kluge Center studying the history of synthetic biology and its overlap with astrobiology …