NASA named a rover landing site on Mars after Ray Bradbury, author of 'The Martian Chronicles.'

Ray Bradbury used the structure of John Steinbeck's 'Grapes of Wrath' to structure his influential science fiction masterpiece, 'The Martian Chronicles.'

Ray Bradbury's 'Fahrenheit 451' was originally called 'The Fireman,' but he changed the title after learning the temperature at which paper burns.

An early short story by Ray Bradbury was plucked from an open submission call by 'In Cold Blood' author Truman Capote, who believed he'd found a significant voice.

NASA's 1997 Mars rover was named in Truth's honor

In 1997, NASA's Mars Pathfinder mission landed on the red planet. Its rover was named Sojourner in Truth's honor—a name selected by a 12-year-old student in a nationwide essay contest about a historical hero.

Sci-fi author Ray Bradbury offered to help aid the Kennedy Administration during the 1960s Space Race.

Imagining the best places to live on Mars

Because conditions on Mars are pretty extreme for humanity, we tend not to think about living there, since everywhere on Mars feels a bit threatening. This imaginative essay uses current geographical knowledge of Mars to visualize what it would look like if humanity could alter its climate to make it widely habitable, a process known to sci-fi readers as terraforming. Given that transformation, where would the hottest neighborhoods be located?

Watch an episode of 'Ray Bradbury Theater,' the sci-fi writer's 80s HBO show, starring a young Jeff Goldblum.

Ray Bradbury wrote 'Fahrenheit 451,' his landmark dystopian novel, on a rented typewriter in the basement of a UCLA library.

The first flight on Mars carried a piece of the Wright plane with it

In April 2021, the solar-powered helicopter Ingenuity—attached to NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover—flew in what became the first controlled flight on a planet other than Earth. Carried with it was a piece of fabric from the famous 1903 Wright Flyer, a symbol of Ingenuity’s continuation of the Wright tradition.

Ray Bradbury said Steven Spielberg was 'one of the most incredible young talents that's ever come into the world.'

Mars was named after the Roman god of war for its reddish hue, resembling blood

A single day on Mars lasts 24.6 hours, while a year lasts 687 Earth days. The rusting of iron in rocks on the Martian surface contributes to brown, gold, and tan colorations.

What is Mars Curiosity rover up to?

Mars continues to reveal itself through the Mars Curiosity Rover, which continues to ramble and roll across the red planet's surface. Here is NASA’s real-time portal for Mars exploration, featuring the latest news, images, and discoveries from the Red Planet. See evidence of the ancient rivers that once ran through the martian landscape, and see how Curiosity is setting the scene for possible future exploration by humans.

Some 19th century astronomers thought Mars was inhabited

As telescope technology advanced, astronomers became able to observe the surfaces of objects in our solar system with greater detail. The dips, valleys, and lines crisscrossing Mars, particularly, captured onlookers' imagination, leading some to speculate that the seemingly organized features could only have been created by an intelligent civilization.

Watch the 1956 film adaptation of 'Moby Dick,' cowritten by sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury.

Internet sleuths solve secret message on Perseverance rover’s Mars parachute

In 2020, the Perseverance Rover landed on Mars, sending a message for the folks back home on its parachute. It took fewer than six hours for the Internet's collective forces to decode the secret slogan hidden in the parachute's colors and patterns, as well as the geographic coordinates of the earth-bound place where rocketry was perfected.

View the surface of Mars from NASA's Perseverance

Simulate a visit to the red planet with the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover. This 3D interactive experience lets you explore various locations on the martian surface. See closeup images the rover has taken and view key points of interest. It's the next best thing to being there and certainly far safer!

Science-fiction legend Ray Bradbury couldn't afford college, but he spent several days a week in his local library, teaching himself how to become a writer.

The team responsible for the first interplanetary sundials included Bill Nye

While reviewing designs for instruments to be carried by future Mars rovers, Nye suggested adapting the function of a calibration tool, which would be used by the Spirit and Opportunity rovers to help calibrate the brightness and color of their panoramic cameras on the Martian surface.

In 1938, 1.7 million people were fooled into believing a Martian invasion was underway because of a radio play

Orson Welles' realistic radio dramatization of a Martian invasion of Earth, called "The War of the Worlds," caused quite a stir with audiences. The broadcast resulted in panic, with some people in the area where the story took place attempting to flee. It also helped Welles secure a contract with a Hollywood studio, leading to the creation of "Citizen Kane."

Read the writing advice of science-fiction legend Ray Bradbury.

Explore a timeline of NASA's exploration of Mars

NASA has studied Mars extensively over 60 years using telescopes, orbiters, and rovers. From April 2021 to January 24, the Ingenuity helicopter completed its technology demonstration objective by flying more than 17 kilometers above the Martian surface.

A four-billion-year-old meteorite reignited the debate about life on Mars

Recovered from Antarctica in 1984, ALH84001 contained organic compounds, magnetite and iron sulfide grains of potential biological origin, and features that resembled fossilized bacteria. With technological advancements, scientists found abiotic origins for these features in the following decades.

In 2022, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft touched down on an asteroid

Dust of asteroid Bennu, slightly wider than the Empire State Building is tall, was found to be rich in carbon, nitrogen, and organic compounds essential for life. The presence of magnesium-sodium phosphate indicated Bennu may have broken off from a primitive ocean world.

View the first photos ever taken from the Martian surface, courtesy of NASA's Viking Project.

Ray Bradbury said he was inspired to pursue writing after meeting a magician named Mr. Electrico, but scholars have never been able to confirm the story.

Viking mission planning director Gentry Lee (1942–) on getting to Mars

"We didn't know then what we know now, which is how tough it really is to land on Mars."

Besides Earth, Mars is the only possibly habitable planet in our solar system

Sending humans to Mars in the following decades poses significant challenges, from the vast distance covered to get materials there to powering technology during weekslong dust storms. Research is ongoing to develop life support systems that can regenerate or recycle consumables.

Viking established entry, descent, and landing methods for future planetary visits

The most significant engineering challenge was slowing the Viking lander, which would move through space at nearly 29,000 kilometers per hour before reaching Mars. This required the invention of supersonic parachute technology, which is still used today.

From the surface, Mars can appear butterscotch, golden brown, and even green

Images from orbiters, landers, and rovers show that Mars has a mix of surface colors resulting from variations in the mineral compositions of different regions. The reddish tint when viewed from Earth comes from kicked up particles of rusted iron.

The inhabitability of the Martian environment presents significant colonization risks

Terraforming the thin atmosphere, toxic dust, extreme cold, and lack of magnetic field is infeasible, given limitations to the size of what can be sent to Mars. NASA and SpaceX are instead exploring creating underground shelters.

In 2018, SpaceX launched a Tesla Roadster into heliocentric orbit for publicity

As of February 2023, the vehicle and its mannequin driver—dubbed "Starman"—have completed three and a quarter revolutions around the sun. One paper estimated that the car has a 22% chance of crashing into Earth within the next 15 million years.

Planetary exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life kicked off with Viking

NASA's Viking 1 and 2 missions revealed Mars' geological activity and potential for past life through their evidence of past surface water. Viking 1 held the record for the longest Mars surface operation until the Opportunity rover surpassed it in 2010.

The Viking landers were the first spacecraft to conduct experiments on Mars

NASA’s Viking 1 and 2 missions tested soils for signs of life, captured images, and studied the Martian atmosphere, revealing evidence of ancient water flow, volcanic soil, and a thin carbon dioxide atmosphere.

Why haven’t humans reached Mars?

Mars remains the most viable interplanetary destination due to its relatively habitable orbit. There are many challenges, however, including the huge distance to Mars, the need for advanced propulsion systems, uncertainty over the impacts of long-duration space travel on astronauts, and the need for safe landing techniques and equipment to handle Martian conditions. Human-manned missions to Mars are not likely to occur until the 2030s at the earliest.

Supersonic parachutes have allowed rovers to safely land on Mars' surface

The disk-band-gap parachute design was first developed for the Viking Project in the 1970s. Since then, it has been reinforced and uses stronger materials to handle larger payloads—including the 2020 Perseverance rover—landing it a world record.

Everything you need to know about Mars

The Lunar and Planetary Institute provides assorted resources about the red planet, Mars. Review this basic 101 level introduction and get to know our solar system neighbor. Learn about Mars' planet-wide dust storms, staggeringly high mountains (six of which dwarf Mount Everest), and whether there's water there below the surface.