Hi, it's Major.

This June, the U.S. poet laureate and former host of The Slowdown, Ada Lemone unveiled

a poem that she wrote for NASA's Europa Clipper, a poem that will be inscribed in her own

hand on the side of the spacecraft set for Jupiter's Watermoon 1.8 billion miles away.

Her work is partnered with the Message in a Bottle Project, which invites anyone to have

their name etched on the microchip mounted to the outside of the spacecraft.

Our producer, Micah Killbond, met with Ada in the ceremonial offices of the poet laureate

in the Library of Congress to connect on this moment that merges science, art, and humanity.

We hope you enjoyed their conversation.

To listen to the full version of this interview, please visit our website at slowdownshow.org.

I'm Ada Lemone, and this is The Slowdown.

And I'm Micah Killbond, the producer of The Slowdown, Ada, tell me where we're sitting.

We are sitting in what I like to call the Oval Office of Poetry.

It is the office of the poet laureate.

It's in the attic of the Jefferson Building, and it overlooks the capital.

But yeah, we're in this beautiful office that has the legacy and history of all the poet's

laureate passed.

One of the things I love about this room is it's a very particular color.

It kind of looks like mint chip ice cream, and it's very calming.

And you're in a moment that deserves a lot of reflection.

Yeah, truly.

And right before we started recording, I actually got very excited to record Room Tone.

...