Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. We are creatures of constant awe.

That's a line from a poem by U.S. poet Loria Ada Limon titled In Praise of Mystery.

It was recently adapted into a picture book featuring these gorgeous illustrations by Peter Sees of stars in the sky.

Because that's the other thing about this poem.

It's etched onto a spacecraft that is headed towards Jupiter, which made me think about

the function of a poem like this. It works as an artifact of us, right? A way of telling

whoever finds it something about us.

But I think it also works as a reminder to us of what we can be.

I don't know, that's just my takeaway from the poem.

Liam M. P.R. and Mary Louise Kelly about it and what it's like having a poem sent to space.

That's coming up.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors.

On our new show, Sources and Methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people, helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

When NASA's Europa Clipper blasts off later this month, it'll be headed for Jupiter's fourth largest moon, Europa.

That is a voyage of 1.8 billion miles towards an icy moon searching for

conditions suitable for life. On board will be scientific and technical gear and also a poem.

And that is where U.S. Poet Laudette Adela Limon comes in. Adelaimun, welcome.

Thank you so much for having me.

So there is a poem engraved on this spaceship.

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