Curiosity's Landing Site Named After Ray Bradbury

Posted on August 22, 2012

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has begun driving from its landing site, which scientists announced they have named for the late science fiction author Ray Bradbury. The location where Curiosity touched down is now called Bradbury Landing. The image above shows evidence of Curiosity's first tracks from the landing site.

Michael Meyer, NASA program scientist for Curiosity, says, "This was not a difficult choice for the science team. Many of us and millions of other readers were inspired in our lives by stories Ray Bradbury wrote to dream of the possibility of life on Mars."

In a career spanning more than 70 years, Ray Bradbury inspired generations of readers to dream, think and create. Bradbury was a prolific author of hundreds of short stories and nearly 50 books, as well as numerous poems, essays, operas, plays, teleplays, and screenplays. Some of his most popular works include Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, Dandelion Wine and Something Wicked This Way Comes.

Curiosity will spend several more days of working beside Bradbury Landing, performing instrument checks and studying the surroundings, before embarking toward its first driving destination approximately 1,300 feet (400 meters) to the east-southeast.

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