Consisting of The Parable of the Sower and The Parable of the Talents, these stories focus on a community’s struggle to survive after the collapse of 21 st-century America. Credit: Wikipedia Commonsīut perhaps her best-known work was the Parable series, written during the 1990s. Book covers of some of Butler’s most influential works. During the 1980s, Butler released her Bloodchild and her Xenogenesis trilogy, which take place on alien worlds, where humans are forced to coexist and even interbreed with extraterrestrial species to survive. These books focused on a future society where genetically-engineered telepathy has created a new power structure in society. The book was an instant classic and was awarded the 2003 Book of the Year prize by the city of Rochester, New York.Īlso during the 1970s, Butler released a number of novels that made up her Patternist series. The story is modeled on slave narratives and explores the realities of slavery in America from the point of view of modern sensibilities. There, she encounters her ancestors, a Black freewoman forced into slavery later in life (Alice), and a white slaveholder (Rufus). In Kindred, her best-selling novel, a young African-American woman (Dana) travels back and forth from 1976 Los Angeles to early 19th-century Maryland (before the Civil War).
In terms of science fiction themes and elements, Butler was known for her explorations of history, trauma, hierarchical power structures, survival, time travel, the impact of technology, and the creation of alternative communities. Butler inspired and influenced the planetary science community and many beyond, including those typically under-represented in STEM fields.” “Butler’s protagonists embody determination and inventiveness, making her a perfect fit for the Perseverance rover mission and its theme of overcoming challenges. Credit: Nikolas Coukouma/Wikipedia CommonsĪs Kathryn Stack Morgan, the deputy project scientist for Perseverance, explained in a NASA press release: While her work was speculative and futuristic, it was always grounded in how it explored themes of race, gender, equality, and humanity.īutler at a signing in 2005. Butler’s impressive body of work includes the novels Kindred, Bloodchild, Speech Sounds, Parable of the Sower, Parable of the Talents, and the Patternist series. This decision coincided with the 15th anniversary of Octavia E. Butler is renowned for being the first African-American woman to win both the Hugo and Nebula Award and was the first science fiction author honored with a MacArthur Fellowship (in 1995). Butler Landing,” in honor of the groundbreaking science fiction author who passed away in 2006 (she was 59 years old). Henceforth, the site where Perseverance landed will be known as the “ Octavia E. In keeping with a NASA tradition where mission controllers give unofficial nicknames to various geological features, the team also consecrated the landing site by naming it after a famous science fiction author.
During this drive, the rover covered 6.5 meters (21.3 feet) and conducted some basic maneuvers and instrument tests. JPL built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.įor more about Perseverance: March 4th, 2021, the Perseverance rover began driving from its landing site on Mars. 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. Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). The University of Arizona in Tucson provided and operates HiRISE.Ī key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the spacecraft.
MRO's mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The landing location is marked with a star in this image from the High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Butler Landing," after the science fiction author Octavia E.
NASA has named the landing site of the agency's Perseverance rover "Octavia E.
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