--- title: "New NASA Director Swears Oath on Carl Sagan Book Instead of Bible" description: "If you look closely at the photo that accompanies NASA's press release about the new Goddard Center director, you'll see something curious and delightful." date: "2023-04-10" modified: "2023-04-10" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-director-sagan-swearing-in" categories: - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "Carl Sagan" - "goddard" - "NASA" - "the digest" --- # New NASA Director Swears Oath on Carl Sagan Book Instead of Bible ![If you look closely at the photo that accompanies NASA's press release about the new Goddard Center director, you'll see something curious and delightful.]() *NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, left, swears in Dr. Makenzie Lystrup as Director of Goddard Space Flight Center, as NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy looks on Thursday, April 6, 2023, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber) \Image: NASA/Futurism\* ## Cosmic If you look closely at the photo that accompanies NASA's press release about the new director of the Goddard Space Flight Center, you'll see something both curious and delightful — that she's taking her oath not on the Bible, or any other conventional holy book, but on a copy of Carl Sagan's 1994 "Pale Blue Dot." Indeed, as [*NASA Watch*'s Keith Cowing spotted]() following Dr. Makenzie Lystrup's swearing in last Friday, the first woman ever to lead the Maryland space center marked the occasion with a nod to that other star enthusiast, the late Sagan. "Normally I just pass on these staged pics," Cowing wrote. "But people have noticed something unusual about this photo." https://twitter.com/aussiastronomer/status/1644080271225147392 ## Do What You Will While Lystrup's choice of oath-taking literature is "unusual," it's definitely [allowed by law]() thanks to our good ole' [separation of church and state](), and there's a long tradition of political statement-making via swearing in books. From [Dr. Suess]() to a [Superman comic]() and any number of [non-Christian religious texts](), American political figures have [for centuries]() been putting their beliefs on display by being sworn into office on books other than the Bible. That said, this appears to be the first time someone's been sworn in on a Sagan book, and we're with Cowing when it comes to admiring Lystrup's oath book — which NASA, interestingly enough, chose not to mention in [its own blog post](). "Why do I suddenly get the urge to apply for a job over in Maryland at Goddard?" quipped Cowing, himself a former NASA employee. "Anyone who does this has to be cool to work for." **More on NASA:** [*Canadian Astronaut Says He’s Going to the Moon So NASA Can Blame Him If Anything Goes Wrong*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()