![]() ![]() The solar-powered Clipper will have an array of instruments designed to study the vast ocean of water that scientists strongly believe lies beneath Europa’s icy crust, potentially harboring conditions suitable for life.ĭuring its mission, the spacecraft is expected to make nearly 50 fly-bys of Europa, rather than continuously orbit the moon, because doing so would bring it too close for too long to Jupiter’s powerfully harsh radiation belts. Now being assembled at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Los Angeles, the spacecraft - larger than any other flown by NASA on an interplanetary mission - should reach Jovian orbit in 2030 after a 2.6 billion-kilometer journey. The entire poem, a free-verse ode consisting of seven three-line stanzas, or tercets, will be engraved in Limon’s handwriting on the exterior of the Europa Clipper, due for launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in October 2024. Capitol, Limon’s 21-line creation, “In Praise of Mystery: a Poem for Europa,” was unveiled and read aloud to a public audience for the first time, receiving a standing ovation. On the night of June 1, exactly one year later in a ceremony at the library, across the street from the U.S. “Where do you start a poem like that?” she recalled thinking just after receiving the invitation in a call at the Library of Congress, where the 47-year-old poet is serving a two-year second term as the nation’s top bard. Poet Laureate Ada Limon was asked to write a poem for inscription on a NASA spacecraft headed to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, she felt a rush of excitement at the honor, followed by bewilderment at the seeming enormity of the task. Poet Laureate Ada Limon reads from her book “The Hurting Kind” in the Poetry Room of the Library of Congress during an interview with Reuters in Washington on June 1. Kranz receives this prestigious award as a result of a career of excellence and service in NASA’s space program.U.S. He continued providing expertise for many other NASA missions throughout his career, including the Skylab Program and Space Shuttle operations. His leadership during the Apollo 13 crisis became well known to subsequent generations thanks to the popular Ron Howard film Apollo 13 (1995) as well as Kranz’s own book and public speaking. He assumed flight director roles with Project Gemini and eventually the Apollo Program, including Apollo 11. Kranz became assistant flight director for Project Mercury with the NASA Space Task Group at Langley, Virginia, in 1960. In 1958, he worked as a flight-test engineer for McDonnell Aircraft developing the Quail Decoy Missile for B-52 and B-47 aircraft. Air Force, flying high-performance jet fighters including the F-80, F-86, and F-100. Kranz was honored for his remarkable accomplishments and success with NASA’s Mission Control for 34 years, from Project Mercury through STS-61, the first Hubble servicing mission. Kranz received the award at an event earlier this November. The museum awarded Kranz its 2021 Michael Collins Trophy for Lifetime Achievement. ![]() To that end, Kranz’s position in history was honored recently by the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. His cool, decisive leadership kept his Mission Control teams on course and performing at a high level while keeping NASA’s astronauts safe. Gene Kranz is as legendary a figure at NASA Johnson Space Center as anyone, which is noteworthy since he never flew into space. It’s currently on loan to the center from Catherine Colella in honor of Frances “Poppy” Northcutt, who was the first female engineer to work in Mission Control. ![]() This personal item was on Kranz’s Mission Control console during the Apollo 11 & 13 missions. They jokingly called him “Flu FD,” short for “flu flight director.” Travel though space history in our Starship Gallery timeline and see a new artifact – Gene Kranz’s Mug.įlight controllers gave this custom mug to Flight Director Gene Kranz after a flu outbreak among his Mission Control team in the mid-1960’s. ![]()
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