Mars Rover Landing Site Named After Sci-Fi Legend Octavia Butler
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
That magical spot in Jezero crater where NASA’s Perseverance rover made its historic landing last month has been named “Octavia E. Butler Landing” in honor of the late sci-fi author.
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“I can think of no better person to mark this historic landing site than Octavia E. Butler, who not only grew up next door to JPL [NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory] in Pasadena, but she also inspired millions with her visions of a science-based future,” Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA associate administrator for science, said in a NASA release.
NASA released a stunning photo of yesterday’s historic landing, showing the Perseverance rover being lowered to the surface during the skycrane maneuver.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech
After a seven-month journey to the Red Planet, the Perseverance rover is finally ready to touch down on Mars. We’ve got you covered for the historic landing, as you can follow the dreaded “seven minutes of terror” live right here.
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“No Mars landing is guaranteed, but we have been preparing a decade to put this rover’s wheels down on the surface of Mars and get to work,” Jennifer Trosper, deputy project manager for the Mars 2020 mission at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement.
Failure could take on many forms next week when NASA’s next-gen rover, Perseverance, reaches the…Read more
Failure could take on many forms next week when NASA’s next-gen rover, Perseverance, reaches the surface of the Red Planet. Here’s what needs to go right and how things could quickly go sideways when Perseverance tries to make its much-anticipated landing.