Perseverance Martian landing point named after Octavia E Butler

Science-fiction author honoured in Nasa’s chosen name for Mars rover’s touchdown

“Mars is a rock - cold, empty, almost airless, dead. Yet it’s heaven in a way,” Octavia E Butler wrote in her acclaimed novel Parable of the Sower. Decades later, Nasa has informally named the touchdown site of the Mars rover Perseverance after the late science fiction novelist.

Nasa said there was “no better person” to mark the landing site than Butler. “Her guiding principle, ‘When using science, do so accurately,’ is what the science team at Nasa is all about. Her work continues to inspire today’s scientists and engineers across the globe – all in the name of a bolder, more equitable future for all,” said Nasa’s Thomas Zurbuchen.

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