New Nasa director swears oath on Carl Sagan’s ‘Pale Blue Dot’ instead of Bible

Makenzie Lystrup first woman in Nasa’s history to become director of Goddard Space Flight Centre

A top newly appointed Nasa official has taken an unconventional oath to assume charge of her duties.

Makenzie Lystrup, who became the first woman in Nasa’s history to be appointed the director of Goddard Space Flight Center on Thursday, took her oath on a copy of Carl Sagan’s 1994 book Pale Blue Dot instead of the conventional practice of using the Bible.

While many officeholders across the country have placed their hands on books by Dr Suess, the US Constitution, copies of the Quran or other documents, this seems to be the first time someone was sworn in on a book by Sagan.

“Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space” is a 1994 book by the astronomer inspired by the famous Pale Blue Dot photograph of planet Earth taken in 1990 by the Voyager 1 space probe from a distance of about six billion kilometres.

“I’m humbled and honored to lead such an amazing and diverse world-renowned team,” Dr Lystrup said.

“To build upon our legacy, I’m keenly focused on growing the next generation of innovators along with ensuring our team has the resources and tools to advance technologies and make new discoveries that boost the space economy and benefit us all,” she said.

Goddard Space Flight Center is located in Maryland and is one of Nasa’s largest field centres. Its workforce consists of over 10,000 employees, both civil servants and contractors.

The centre is responsible for the oversight and execution of a $4bn portfolio, Nasa pointed out. The centre is also home to the US’s largest concentration of scientists, engineers and technologists dedicated to Earth and space science.

“Makenzie is a natural leader, bringing to Goddard a scientist’s drive for discovery along with a wealth of industry experience and knowledge,” said the space agency’s administrator Bill Nelson.

Dr Makenzie Lystrup poses for a photo following her swearing-in ceremony on Thursday (Nasa/Keegan Barber)

“As centre director, she will lead a world-renowned team of scientists, engineers, and technologists focused on Earth and space science,” he said.

“Under her leadership, the Goddard workforce will continue to inspire, innovate, and explore the unknown for the benefit of all.”

Before joining Nasa, Dr Lystrup was vice president and general manager of civil space at Ball Aerospace, where she led contributions to several missions such as Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope, Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), Landsat 9 and the Roman Space Telescope.