NASA's newly appointed director of the Goddard Space Flight Center has claimed two firsts before even starting her official duties.
On Thursday, Makenzie Lystrup became the first woman in NASA's history to be appointed the director of the Goddard Space Flight Center.
She also became the first person to take their oath of office on a copy of Carl Sagan's 1994 book Pale Blue Dot.
In the US, office holders of a certain level are required to take an oath, otherwise known as being 'sworn in', before starting their roles.
Religious texts such as the Bible are most often associated with US official swearing in ceremonies.
But officials can use whatever text holds the most meaning to them and have sworn oaths on everything from the US Constitution to a Dr Seuss book.
What's the significance of Pale Blue Dot?
Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of The Human Future In Space, by astronomer Carl Sagan, was inspired by the famous 1990 Pale Blue Dot photograph taken in 1990 by the Voyager 1 space probe.
In the photograph, Earth is observed from six billion kilometres away and appears as a blue speck, no bigger than a single pixel, in a vast expanse of space.
Sagan uses the significant photograph to muse on the philosophy about humanity's place in the solar system and where our species might be headed in the future.
Chicago Cook County board commissioner Anthony Joel Quezada also took his oath on Pale Blue Dot in 2022.
'A natural born leader'
"I'm humbled and honoured to lead such an amazing and diverse world-renowned team," said Dr Lystrup on her appointment.
"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."
NASA celebrated the news of Dr Lystrup's appointment with a quote from Sagan's book.
The Goddard Space Flight Centre is one of NASA's largest space centres with a workforce of over 10,000 and a $US4 billion portfolio.
"Makenzie is a natural leader, bringing to Goddard a scientist's drive for discovery along with a wealth of industry experience and knowledge," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said.
"Under her leadership, the Goddard workforce will continue to inspire, innovate, and explore the unknown for the benefit of all."
Prior to joining NASA, Dr Lystrup was vice president and general manager of civil space at Ball Aerospace.
During her tenure at the company she led Ball's 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.
