Mars rover drives from Octavia Butler landing site
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 the Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Pasadena announced Friday.
That landing spot on Mars, where Perseverance deployed on Friday for its historic ride, was named the “Octavia E. Butler Landing,” in honor of the pioneering Black science-fiction author and Pasadena native, said Katie Stack Morgan, deputy project scientist for the 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’s protagonists embodied determination and inventiveness, making her a perfect fit for the Perseverance rover mission.”
She said Butler “inspired and influenced the planetary science community and many beyond, including those typically underrepresented in STEM fields. 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.” Naming the landing site for Butler continues a tradition inaugurated with the 2012 landing of the rover Curiosity on Mars, with that location named in honor of famed sci-fi author Ray Bradbury.
According to Morgan, the designations are “in appreciation of the role 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, who died in 2006, wrote “Kindred,” “Bloodchild,” “Speech Sounds,” “Parable of the Sower,” “Parable of the Talents,” and the “Patternist” series. Long after her death, Butler has never seemed more relevant. The rare Black science fiction writer in her lifetime, she is now praised for anticipating many of the major issues of the day.
Friday’s drive in Butler’s honor was described as a success.
“Our first drive went incredibly well,” said Anais Zarifian, a mobility test bed engineer on the rover mission.
As she showed a photo taken by the rover after moving, Zarifian said, “You can see the wheel tracks we’ve left on Mars. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to see wheel tracks, and I’ve seen a lot of them. This is just a huge milestone for the mission and the mobility team.”