The United States Library of Congress revealed that a poem by the writer of Mexican roots ada lemon will travel aboard a NASA rocket on a mission to explore Europe, one of Jupiter’s moons. The writing of the author, who since September last year she has been the country’s poet laureate, will accompany the space mission ‘Europe Clipper’, which will take off in October 2024 and will analyze the subterranean oceans of the natural satellite.
In addition to the text, NASA invited the public to add their names to a digital list that will travel with the poem, via the web go.nasa.gov/MessageInABottle. Names received before December 31 will be recorded on a microchip and will accompany Limón’s poem, as a message in an intergalactic bottle.
“Writing this poem was one of the greatest honors of my life, but also one of the most difficult tasks assigned to me,” the writer said in a statement. The text, titled “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europe”encourages us to appreciate and explore the mysteries of the Earth that unite us in the face of the immensity of the Universe.
In April of this year, Limón was appointed to serve as Poet Laureate for a historic second term. Poets Laureates, who earn an annual salary, kick off literary season at the Library of Congress in early fall with a reading from their own works.
In addition to the project with NASA, the author is preparing a collaboration with the US National Park Service to organize readings in various protected lands throughout the North American country.
The Europa Clipper probe is currently under construction and is expected to be sent into space in October next year. It will travel more than 2,000 million kilometers before reach the orbit of Jupiter in 2030.
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