Mars Landing Site Named For Ray Bradbury

Mars Landing Site Named For Ray Bradbury, Mars Landing Site Named For Ray Bradbury, NASA began a new chapter of its Martian chronicle today (Aug. 22) when the agency named its Mars rover Curiosity’s landing site after the late science fiction author Ray Bradbury.

Curiosity’s landing site inside Mars’ vast Gale Crater was rechristened “Bradbury Landing” today 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.

“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.”

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 today, 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.