Ada Limón’s new picture book contains poems engraved on a rocket (exclusive)

Ada Limón’s upcoming book features her revolutionary poetry, beautifully illustrated by Peter Sís – and PEOPLE has a first look!

Praise of the mystery, Set to be published by Norton Young Readers on Tuesday, October 1, the book includes Limón’s poem “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa,” which is also engraved on NASA’s Europa Clipper rocket, which will launch on Thursday, October 10.

The American poet first unveiled the original work in June 2023 as part of NASA’s “Message in Bottle” campaign, urging people to sign the poem and participate in the Europa Clipper mission.

“The poem connects the two watery worlds – Earth, thirsting to discover what makes a world habitable, and Europe, waiting with secrets yet to be explored,” the mission’s website says.

Sís, MacArthur Fellow 2003, three-time Caldecott Honor winner and eight-time New York Times The winner of the award for best illustrated book was asked to illustrate the picture book to help young readers understand the poem.

On one of the double pages, Limón’s phrase “We are creatures in constant awe” is seen under a large tree. On another page, it says: “From the earth, we read the sky as if it were an infallible book of the universe, expert and unambiguous.”

The book’s upcoming publication comes two years after Limón was named the 24th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.

“Ada Limón is a poet who connects,” Hayden said in a statement in July 2022. “Her accessible, engaging poems anchor us in where we are and who we share our world with. They speak of intimate truths, of the beauty and sorrow of life, in ways that help us move forward.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Praise of the Mystery will be released on October 1st and can now be pre-ordered wherever books are sold.