NASA's Europa Clipper has set sail for a moon of Jupiter to explore the possibilies of life. Launced last week, the craft carries a metal vault plate inscribed with the poem “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa,” by Ada Limón, the national poet laureate. NASA, Limón and the Library invited people worldwide to sign on to the poem and send their names to space with it on a microchip. More than 2.6 million people did so. Their names, alongside the poem, are aboard the Clipper for a six year journey to Europa.
The Library's 2024 National Book Festival will be August 24, featuring writers and personalities across the humanities including James McBride, Renee Fleming, James Patterson, Marie Arana and many others.
Ada Limón, the U.S. Poet Laureate. is launching the signature project of her tenure: seven site-specific poetry installations in national parks across the country, an initiative with the National Park Service and the Poetry Society of America.
