Ray Bradbury: Why NASA named Curiosity landing site after SciFi writer

Ray Bradbury is the new name for the Mars rover landing site in the Gale Crater. NASA chose Ray Bradbury to honor the iconic writer's legacy and dedication to Mars exploration, NASA officials said.

By Tariq Malik,?Space.com / August 23, 2012

NASA scientists named the Curiosity touch-down area Bradbury Landing after writer Ray Bradbury, seen on screen, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012.

(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

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NASA began a new chapter of its Martian chronicle Aug. 22 when the agency named its Mars rover Curiosity's landing site after the late science fiction author Ray Bradbury.

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Curiosity's landing site inside Mars' vast Gale Crater was rechristened "Bradbury Landing"? to honor the iconic writer's legacy and dedication to Mars exploration, NASA officials said.

?Ray Bradbury?died in June at age 91. His first book, "The Martian Chronicles," paints a vivid picture of the human exploration of Mars through a series of short stories. The book was published in 1950 and later adapted into a TV series and video game.

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"Today would have been Ray Bradbury's 92nd birthday, but he's already reached immortality in his short stories and books," said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program. "His books have truly inspired us. His 'Martian Chronicles' has inspired our curiosity." [More photos of Bradbury Landing on Mars]

The Mars rover Curiosity landed on Aug. 5 inside Gale Crater to determine if the area could have ever supported microbial life. The site of Bradbury Landing is the space contained within the first boxy wheel marks made by Curiosity as it was lowered to the Martian surface by its sky crane descent stage, Meyer said.

Curiosity took its?first test drive on Mars Wednesday, rolling forward, then turning in place and photographing its tracks on the Red Planet.

"I kind of like the name. For one, it was the majority vote by the science team, having been inspired by Ray Bradbury," Meyer added. The name also is a nod to the era of ocean exploration on Earth that took adventurers to many new lands, he added.

?NASA has a long tradition of naming landing sits on Mars after scientists and other icons related to space exploration or the Red Planet.

"Since sending the first rover to Mars in 1997, NASA has made it a tradition to name its landing sites after visionaries and explorers who devoted their lives to expanding our boundaries," said Robert Pearlman, editor of the space history website collectSPACE.com and SPACE.com contributor.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/ScWQX35D08g/Ray-Bradbury-Why-NASA-named-Curiosity-landing-site-after-SciFi-writer

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