Mars Rover Landing Site Named After Sci-Fi Legend Octavia Butler Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona That magical spot in Jezero crater where NASA’s Perseverance rover made its historic landing last month has been named “Octavia E. Butler Landing” in honor of the late sci-fi author. Advertisement “I can think of no better person to mark this historic landing site than Octavia E. Butler, who not only grew up next door to JPL [NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory] in Pasadena, but she also inspired millions with her visions of a science-based future,” Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA associate administrator for science, said in a NASA release.