And the fact that her works are as relevant today, if not more so than when they were originally written and published, is a statement to her vision, genius and timelessness.” She said Butler “inspired and influenced the planetary science community and many beyond, including those typically under-represented in STEM fields. “Butler’s protagonists embodied determination and inventiveness, making her a perfect fit for the Perseverance rover mission.” “Butler’s pioneering work explored themes of race, gender, equality and humanity, centering on the experiences of Black women at a time when such voices were largely absent from science fiction,” Morgan said. Butler Landing,” in honor of the pioneering Black science-fiction author and Pasadena native, said Katie Stack Morgan, deputy project scientist for the mission. That landing spot on Mars, where Perseverance deployed on Friday for its historic ride, was named the “Octavia E.
The rare black science fiction writer in her lifetime, she is now praised for anticipating many of the major issues of the day. Long after her death, Butler has never seemed more relevant. Butler, considered the first black woman to gain national prominence as a science fiction writer, died Feb. 4, 2004 file photo, author Octavia Butler poses near some of her novels. The fact that her works are still as motivating and as important today-if not more so than when they were originally written-is a testament to the endearing legacy of one of our greatest literary minds.PASADENA > After two weeks of residency on the Red Planet, the Mars rover Perseverance has taken its first drive, moving about 21 feet in what proved to be a wildly successful test of the rover’s mobility, mission managers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena announced on Friday, March 5. “Butler inspired and influenced the planetary science community and many beyond-including those typically underrepresented in STEM [science, technology, engineering and math fields,” Stack Morgan said. Her notable works such as Parable of the Talents, Dawn, and Wild Seed are currently in development with names like Viola Davis, Ava DuVernay, and Damian Duffy adapting them for television and film. Previously, the Mars Pathfinder lander was renamed the “Carl Sagan Memorial Station” after touchdown with the Sojourner rover in 1997īutler, 58, was the first Black American woman to win both the Hugo and Nebula awards that honor great science fiction, and the first science fiction writer overall who received a MacArthur Fellowship. In 2004, the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity had their landing site locations dubbed the “Columbia Memorial Station” and “Challenger Memorial Station,” respectively, after the two fallen space shuttle crews of 20. The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. “We chose on this mission to continue this theme in appreciation of the role that science fiction writers have played in inspiring so many of us to become the engineers, scientists and explorers who turn science fiction into reality for the next generation.” Butler honors notable science fiction writers, a theme also used by the Mars Science Laboratory team,” Stack Morgan added during the press conference. “Naming Perseverance’s landing site in honor of Octavia E.
The first mission is to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, paving the way for human exploration, which has emboldened the likes of Elon Musk and Yusaku Maezawa to make commercial space flight a thing sooner rather than later. A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The landing location is marked (above) with a star in this image from the High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). NASA’s Perseverance rover captured this view during its first test drive on Mars, on March 4, 2021.
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