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What a fine, appropriate way to honor the late Ray Bradbury:

The Mars Curiosity landing site will now be called Bradbury Landing in honor of science-fiction writer Ray Bradbury, NASA announced Wednesday.

The naming was part of a NASA briefing about the Curiosity Rover’s progress. Curiosity’s Twitter feed shared the news with a photo, saying: “In tribute, I dedicate my landing spot on Mars to you, Ray Bradbury. Greetings from Bradbury Landing!”

Although Curiosity successfully landed on Mars on Aug. 6, NASA officials waited to announce the name of the site. That’s because Aug. 22 would have been Bradbury’s 92nd birthday. During Wednesday’s briefing, Michael Meyer, NASA’s lead scientists for the Mars Exploration Program said, “In his honor, we declared the place that Curiosity touched down to be forever known as Bradbury Landing,” the Washington Post reports.

One of Bradbury’s most famous works was his collection of linked stories, “The Martian Chronicles.” An imaginative visionary, Bradbury had worked as a consultant with NASA (and also with Disney).

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