Mariner 9

Operator	NASA
Mission type	Orbiter
Satellite of	Mars
Orbital insertion date	November 14, 1971 GMT
Launch date	May 30, 1971 at 22:23:00 UTC
Launch vehicle	Atlas-Centaur SLV-3C launch vehicle
Mission duration	May 30, 1971 to October 27, 1972
COSPAR ID	1971-051A
Mass	558.8 kg
Power	500 W
Orbital elements
Eccentricity	.6014
Inclination	64.4°
Apoapsis	16,860 kilometres (10,480 mi)
Periapsis	1,650 kilometres (1,030 mi)
Orbital period	719.47 m

Mariner 9 (Mariner Mars '71 / Mariner-I) is a NASA space orbiter that helped in the exploration of Mars and was part of the Mariner program. Mariner 9 was launched toward Mars on May 30, 1971^[1][2] from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and reached the planet on November 14 of the same year,^[1][2] becoming the first spacecraft to orbit another planet^[3] — only narrowly beating Soviet Mars 2 and Mars 3, which both arrived within a month. After months of dust-storms it managed to send back clear pictures of the surface.

Mariner 9 returned 7329 images over the course of its mission, which concluded in October 1972.^[4]

Objectives[link]

Mariner 9 launch

Mariner 9 was designed to continue the atmospheric studies begun by Mariner 6 and 7, and to map over 70% of the Martian surface from the lowest altitude (1,500 kilometers (930 mi) and at the highest resolutions (from 1 kilometer per pixel to 100 meters per pixel) of any Mars mission up to that point. An infrared radiometer was included to detect heat sources in search of evidence of volcanic activity. It was to study temporal changes in the Martian atmosphere and surface. Mars' two moons were also to be analyzed. Mariner 9 more than met its objectives.

Experiments[link]

1. Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS)
2. Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer (IRIS)
3. Celestial Mechanics (not a separate instrument; it relied upon tracking measurements including range, range rate, and Doppler)
4. S-Band Occultation (not a separate instrument; experiment observed the attenuation of the communication signal as the orbiting satellite passed out of view)
5. Infrared Radiometer (IRR)
6. Visual Imaging System

Achievements[link]

Mariner 9 view of the Noctis Labyrinthus "labyrinth" at the western end of Valles Marineris.

Elysium Mons in 1972 by Mariner 9

Mariner 9 was the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. It carried an instrument payload similar to Mariner 6 and 7, but, because of the need for a larger propulsion system to control the spacecraft in Mars orbit, it weighed more than Mariners 6 and 7 combined. When Mariner 9 arrived at Mars, the atmosphere was so dusty that the surface was obscured. This unexpected situation made a strong case for the desirability of studying a planet from orbit rather than merely flying past. Mariner 9's computer was thus programmed from Earth to delay imaging of the surface for a couple of months until the dust settled. After 349 days in orbit, Mariner 9 had transmitted 7,329 images, covering 100% of Mars' surface. The images revealed river beds, craters, massive extinct volcanoes (such as Olympus Mons, the largest known volcano in the Solar System), canyons (including the Valles Marineris, a system of canyons over about 2,500 miles (4,020 km) long), evidence of wind and water erosion and deposition, weather fronts, fogs, and more. Mars' tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos, were also photographed.^[5] The findings from the Mariner 9 missions underpinned the later Viking program.

The enormous Valles Marineris canyon system is named after Mariner 9 in honor of its achievements.

After depleting its supply of attitude control gas, the spacecraft was turned off on October 27, 1972.

Construction[link]

A schematic of Mariner 9, showing the major components and features

The ultraviolet spectrometer aboard Mariner 9 was constructed by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado. The ultraviolet spectrometer team was led by Professor Charles Barth.

The Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer (IRIS) team was led by Dr. Rudolf A. Hanel from NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center (GSFC). The IRIS instrument was built by Texas Instruments, Dallas, Texas.

The Infrared Radiometer (IRR) team was led by Professor Gerald Neugebauer from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Error Correction Codes achievements[link]

A Hadamard code was used during the 1971 Mariner 9 mission to correct for picture transmission errors. The data words used during this mission were 6 bits long, which represented 64 grayscale values.

Because of limitations of the quality of the alignment of the transmitter the maximum useful data length was about 30 bits. Instead of using a repetition code, a [32, 6, 16] Hadamard code was used. Errors of up to 7 bits per word could be corrected using this scheme.

Compared to a 5-repetition code, the error correcting properties of this Hadamard code are much better, yet its rate is comparable. The efficient decoding algorithm was an important factor in the decision to use this code. The circuitry used was called the "Green Machine".^[6] It employed the fast Fourier transform which can increase the decoding speed by a factor of 3.

Present location[link]

Mariner 9 is expected to remain in a Mars orbit until 2022,^[7] when the spacecraft will enter the Martian atmosphere and either burn up or fall down to the planet's surface.

See also[link]

• Exploration of Mars
• Space exploration
• Unmanned space missions

v t e Spacecraft missions to Mars Past Flybys Mars 1M No.1 Mars 1M No.2 Mars 2MV-4 No.1 Mars 1 Mars 2MV-3 No.1 Zond 2 Mariner 3 Mariner 4 Mariner 6 Mars 2M No.521 Mariner 7 Mars 2M No.522 Mars 4 Rosetta Dawn Orbiters Mariner 8 Mariner 9 Kosmos 419 Mars 2 Mars 3 Mars 4 Mars 5 Viking 1 Viking 2 Mars Observer Mars Global Surveyor Mars 96 Mars Climate Orbiter Nozomi Yinghuo-1 Landers Mars 2 Mars 3 Mars 6 Viking 1 Viking 2 Mars Pathfinder Mars Polar Lander Deep Space 2 Beagle 2 Phoenix Rovers Sojourner Spirit Other Fobos 1 Fobos 2 Fobos-Grunt Present 2001 Mars Odyssey Mars Express Opportunity Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter En route Mars Science Laboratory Future MAVEN Indian Mars Mission ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and static lander ExoMars rover InSight MetNet Mars-Grunt Northern Light Chinese Red Dragon Failed missions are listed in italics

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mariner 9 Mission Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
• NSSDC Master Catalog: Spacecraft - Mariner 9
• NASA-JPL Guide to Mariner 9
• some Mariner 9 images of Mars
• Mariner 9 approaching Mars movie
• Mariner 9 images, including dustorm

"Boatmen" redirects here. It may also refer to a nickname for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.

Three types of mariners are seen here in the wheelhouse: a master, an able seaman, and a harbour pilot.

A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses. Etymologically, the name preserves the memory of the time when ships were commonly powered by sails, but it applies to the personnel of all vessels, whatever their mode of locomotion.

Professioners have left the industry and led noteworthy lives in the naval services or on the shore. For example, Traian Băsescu started his career as a third mate in 1976 and is now the President of Romania. Arthur Phillip joined the Merchant Navy in 1751 and 37 years later founded Sydney, Australia. Merchant mariner Douglass North went from seaman to navigator to winning the 1993 Nobel Prize in Economics.

Professional mariners[link]

Seafarers hold a variety of professions and ranks, each of which carries unique responsibilities which are integral to the successful operation of an ocean-going vessel. A ship's crew can generally be divided into four main categories: the deck department, the engineering department, the steward's department, and other.

Deck department[link]

An able seaman stands iceberg lookout on the bow of the freighter USNS Southern Cross during a re-supply mission to McMurdo Station, Antarctica; circa 1981.

Officer positions in the deck department include but are not limited to: Master and his Chief, Second, and Third officers. The official classifications for unlicensed members of the deck department are Able seaman and Ordinary seaman. With some variation, the Chief Mate is most often charged with the duties of Cargo Mate. Second Mates are charged with being the medical officer, in case of medical emergency. All Three mates each do Four-Hour AM and PM shifts on the bridge, when underway at sea.

A common deck crew for a ship includes:

• (1) Chief Officer/Chief Mate
• (1) Second Officer /Second Mate
• (1) Third Officer / Third Mate
• (1) Cadet/Officer Cadet
• (1) Boatswain
• (2-8) Able seamen
• (0-3) Ordinary seamen

Engineering department[link]

A ship's engineering department consists of the members of a ship's crew that operates and maintains the propulsion and other systems onboard the vessel. Marine engineering staff also deal with the "hotel" facilities onboard, notably the sewage, lighting, air conditioning and water systems. Engineering staff manage bulk fuel transfers, from a fuel-supply barge in port. When underway at sea, the second and third engineers will often be occupied with oil transfers from storage tanks, to active working tanks; Cleaning of oil purifiers is another regular task. Engineering staff are requireed to have training in firefighting and first aid. Additional duties include maintaining the ship's boats and performing other nautical tasks. Engineers play a key role in cargo loading/discharging gear and safety systems, though the specific cargo discharge function remains the responsibility of deck officers and deck workers.

A common engineering crew for a ship includes:

• (1) Chief Engineer
• (1) Second Engineer / First Assistant Engineer
• (1) Third Engineer / Second Assistant Engineer
• (1-2) Fourth Engineer / Third Assistant Engineer
• (0-2) Fifth Engineer / Junior Engineer
• (1-3) QMED (unlicensed qualified rating: Qualified member Engine Dept.)
• (1-3) Oiler (unlicensed qualified rating)
• (0-3) Greaser/s (unlicensed qualified rating)
• (1-5) Entry-level rating (such as Wiper (occupation), Utilityman, etc.)

American ships also carry a Qualified Member of the Engine Department. Other possible positions include Motorman, Machinist, Electrician, Refrigeration Engineer, and Tankerman.

Steward's department[link]

A typical Steward's department for a cargo ship is a Chief Steward, a Chief Cook, and a Steward's Assistant. All three positions are typically filled by unlicensed personnel.

The chief steward directs, instructs, and assigns personnel performing such functions as preparing and serving meals; cleaning and maintaining officers' quarters and steward department areas; and receiving, issuing, and inventorying stores.

The chief steward also plans menus; compiles supply, overtime, and cost control records. The steward may requisition or purchase stores and equipment. Galley roles may include baking.

A chief steward's duties may overlap with those of the Steward's Assistant, the Chief Cook, and other Steward's Department crewmembers.

A person has to have a Merchant Mariner's Document issued by the United States Coast Guard in the United States Merchant Marine in order to serve as a chief steward. All chief cooks who sail internationally are similarly documented by their respective countries because of international conventions and agreements.

The only time that Steward Department staff are charged with duties outside the Steward department, is during the execution of the Fire and Boat Drill.

Other departments[link]

Various types of staff officer positions may exist on board a ship, including Junior Assistant Purser, Senior Assistant Purser, Purser, Chief Purser, Medical Doctor, Professional Nurse, Marine Physician Assistant, and Hospital Corpsman. These jobs are considered administrative positions and are therefore regulated by Certificates of Registry issued by the United States Coast Guard. Pilots are also merchant marine officers and are licensed by the Coast Guard.

Working conditions[link]

Mariners spend extended periods at sea. Most deep-sea mariners are hired for one or more voyages that last for several months. There is no job security after that. The length of time between voyages varies by job availability and personal preference.^[1]

The rate of unionization for these workers in the United States is about 36 percent, much higher than the average for all occupations. Consequently, merchant marine officers and seamen, both veterans and beginners, are hired for voyages through union hiring halls or directly by shipping companies. Hiring halls fill jobs by the length of time the person has been registered at the hall and by their union seniority. Hiring halls typically are found in major seaports.

At sea, on larger vessels members of the deck department usually stand watch for 4 hours and are off for 8 hours, 7 days a week.^[2]

Mariners work in all weather conditions. Working in damp and cold conditions often is inevitable, although ships try to avoid severe storms while at sea. It is uncommon for modern vessels to suffer disasters such as fire, explosion, or a sinking. Yet workers face the possibility of having to abandon ship on short notice if it collides with other vessels or runs aground. Mariners also risk injury or death from falling overboard and from hazards associated with working with machinery, heavy loads, and dangerous cargo. However, modern safety management procedures, advanced emergency communications, and effective international rescue systems place modern mariners in a much safer position.

Most newer vessels are air conditioned, soundproofed from noisy machinery, and equipped with comfortable living quarters. These amenities have helped ease the sometimes difficult circumstances of long periods away from home. Also, modern communications, especially email, link modern mariners to their families. Nevertheless, some mariners dislike the long periods away from home and the confinement aboard ship. They consequently leave the profession.

Life at sea[link]

Professional mariners live on the margins of society, with much of their life spent beyond the reach of land. They face cramped, stark, noisy, and dangerous conditions at sea. Yet men and women still go to sea. For some, the attraction is a life unencumbered with the restraints of life ashore. Sea-going adventure and a chance to see the world also appeal to many seafarers. Whatever the calling, those who live and work at sea invariably confront social isolation.

Findings by the Seafarer's International Research Center indicate a leading cause of mariners leaving the industry is "almost invariably because they want to be with their families." U.S. merchant ships typically do not allow family members to accompany seafarers on voyages. Industry experts increasingly recognize isolation, stress, and fatigue as occupational hazards. Advocacy groups such as International Labor Organization, a United Nations agency, and the Nautical Institute seek improved international standards for mariners.

Sailors on a ship

One’s service aboard ships typically extends for months at a time, followed by protracted shore leave. However, some seamen secure jobs on ships they like and stay aboard for years. In rare cases, veteran mariners choose never to go ashore when in port.

Further, the quick turnaround of many modern ships, spending only a matter of hours in port, limits a seafarer's free-time ashore. Moreover, some seafarers entering U.S. ports from a watch list of 25 countries deemed high-risk face restrictions on shore leave due to security concerns in a post 9/11 environment. However, shore leave restrictions while in U.S. ports impact American seamen as well. For example, the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots notes a trend of U.S. shipping terminal operators restricting seamen from traveling from the ship to the terminal gate. Further, in cases where transit is allowed, special "security fees" are at times assessed.

Such restrictions on shore leave coupled with reduced time in port by many ships translate into longer periods at sea. Mariners report that extended periods at sea living and working with shipmates who for the most part are strangers takes getting used to. At the same time, there is an opportunity to meet people from a wide range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Recreational opportunities have improved aboard some U.S. ships, which may feature gyms and day rooms for watching movies, swapping sea stories, and other activities. And in some cases, especially tankers, it is made possible for a mariner to be accompanied by members of his family. However, a mariner’s off duty time at sea is largely a solitary affair, pursuing hobbies, reading, writing letters, and sleeping.

Notable mariners[link]

Statue dedicated to Italian Sailors at Finale Ligure, Liguria (Italy)

Barbarossa Hayrettin Pasha (Turkish: Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa or Hızır Hayrettin Paşa; also Hızır Reis before being promoted to the rank of Pasha and becoming the Kaptan-ı Derya (Fleet Admiral) of the Ottoman Navy) (c. 1478 – 4 July 1546) was an Ottoman admiral who dominated the Mediterranean for decades. He was born on the island of Lesbos/ Mytilini and died in Istanbul, the Ottoman capital.

Merchant seamen have gone on to make their mark on the world in a number of interesting ways. Traian Băsescu, who started his career as a third mate in 1976 is now the President of Romania. Arthur Phillip joined the Merchant Navy in 1751 and 37 years later founded the city of Sydney, Australia. Merchant mariner Douglass North went from seaman to navigator to winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Economics. Jimmy Carter went on to become the 39th President of the United States after service in the US Navy.

Members of the British Merchant Navy have won the Distinguished Service Cross, and have had careers taking them from 'Deck Boy Peter' to Air Marshal Sir Beresford Peter Torrington Horsley KCB, CBE, LVO, AFC. Canadian merchant seamen have won the Victoria Cross and the Medal of Honor. American merchant seamen have won the Medal of Honor in the Korean War and Vietnam War, and one went on to become the "Father of the American Navy." One doesn't have to look far to find merchant seamen who became war heroes in Scotland, France, New Zealand, Peru, or Denmark.

Since World War II, a number of merchant seamen have become notorious criminals. American William Colepaugh was convicted as a Nazi spy in World War II and Fritz Sauckel was convicted as a Nazi war criminal. Briton Duncan Scott-Ford was hanged for treachery in World War II. George Hennard was an American mass murderer who claimed 24 victims on a rampage at Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas. And Perry Smith's own murderous rampage was made famous in Truman Capote's non-fiction novel In Cold Blood.

Ferdinand Magellan led the first expedition that circumnavigated the globe in 1519–1522.

Mariners are well represented in the visual arts. French pilot's assistant Paul Gauguin would later become a leading post-impressionist painter and pioneered modern art's synthetist style. American seaman Haskell Wexler later won two Academy Awards, the latter for a biography of his shipmate Woody Guthrie. British Merchant Navy member Ken Russell later directed films such as Tommy, Altered States, and The Lair of the White Worm. Merchant seaman Johnny Craig was already a working comic book artist before he joined up, but Ernie Schroeder wouldn't start drawing comics until after returning home from World War II.

Merchant sailors have also made a splash in the world of sport. In football, with Fred Blackburn in England and the likes of Dan Devine and Heisman Trophy winner Frank Sinkwich in the U.S. In track and field, American seamen Cornelius Johnson and Jim Thorpe both won Olympic medals, though Thorpe didn't get his until 30 years after his death. Seamen Jim Bagby, Jr. and Charlie Keller went on to Major League Baseball. Drew Bundini Brown was Muhammad Ali's assistant trainer and cornerman, and Joe Gold went on to make his fortune as the bodybuilding and fitness guru of Gold's Gym.

Other sporting notables include Edwin Stratton the founder of Yoshinkan UK, Dutchman Henk de Velde known for sailing solo around the world, and Briton Matthew Webb who was the first person to swim the English Channel without the use of artificial aid.

Irish Merchant Navy member Kevin McClory spent 14 days in a lifeboat and later went on to write the James Bond movies Never Say Never Again and Thunderball. Members of the American Beat Movement Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Bob Kaufman, and Herbert Huncke were all Merchant Mariners.

It's perhaps not surprising that the writers of Moby Dick, The American Practical Navigator, and Two Years Before the Mast were Merchant Mariners. It might be surprising that the writers of Borat, A Hard Day's Night, and Cool Hand Luke were.

Seamen always complain about leaving their girl friends ashore, but imagine how James Dougherty felt, leaving his 17-year-old wife Marilyn Monroe on the beach. Merchant Navy steward Freddie Lennon had a surprise when he returned home to find he had a newborn son. That son would later found the musical group The Beatles.

A number of U.S. Merchant Mariners from World War II later played well known television characters. The list includes Milburn Drysdale on The Beverly Hillbillies, Archie Bunker on All in the Family, Columbo on Columbo, Jim Rockford on The Rockford Files, Steve McGarret on Hawaii Five-O, Uncle Jesse Duke on The Dukes of Hazzard, and Cheyenne Bodie on Cheyenne.

Other uses[link]

An ancient term, the word "sailor," has come to mean many things. Sailor may refer to:

• A person who is under sail and not on a vessel with motorised power of any kind in the Royal Navy,
• A person who goes out sailing, boating or yachting,
• A person who practices the art of controlling the motion of a sailing ship or sailboat, across a body of water,
• An enlisted member of a military naval force,
• Anyone on a boat,
• Anyone from a recruit to an admiral in a navy or coast guard,
• Members of the deck department as opposed to members of other departments in the Merchant Navy.

See also[link]

Nautical portal

• British Merchant Navy
• Marine (military)
• Sailing
• Sailor jargon
• Sailor suit
• Seafarer's professions and ranks
• Seaman military rank
• The Marine Society
• United States Merchant Marine

Notes and references[link]

External links[link]

• Glossary of Shipping Terms for Sailors & Maritime Professionals
• Survey of Water Transport Occupations
• Seafarer Fatigue: The Cardiff Research Programme
• Sailor at Etymology Online
• Sailors Help Line--helpline for seafarers
• The Telegraph, Sea no evil: the life of a modern sailor

Ray Bradbury
Born	(1920-08-22) August 22, 1920 (age 91) Waukegan, Illinois
Nationality	American
Period	1938–present
Genres	Science fiction, fantasy, horror fiction, mystery (fiction)
Notable work(s)	The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451, Something Wicked This Way Comes
Influences H. P. Lovecraft, George Orwell, Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, George Bernard Shaw, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Yevgeny Zamyatin, Alex Raymond, Jack Williamson, Edgar Rice Burroughs
Influenced Leigh Brackett,[1] Neil Gaiman, Kim Harrison, Stephen King, [2], Dean Koontz, Charles L. Grant
Signature
www.raybradbury.com

Ray Douglas Bradbury (born August 22, 1920) is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles (1950) and The Illustrated Man (1951), Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th and 21st century American writers of speculative fiction. Many of Bradbury's works have been adapted into television shows or films.

Early life[link]

Bradbury was born in 1920^[3] in Waukegan, Illinois^[4] to Esther Moberg Bradbury, a Swedish immigrant, and Leonard Spaulding Bradbury,^[5] a power and telephone lineman.^[6]

Ray Bradbury is related to the American Shakespeare scholar Douglas Spaulding.^[7] He is also directly descended from Mary Bradbury, who was tried, convicted and sentenced to hang as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. She was married to Captain Thomas Bradbury of Salisbury, Massachusetts.

Bradbury was a reader and writer throughout his youth^[8] who was greatly influenced by the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. Bradbury was especially impressed with Poe's ability to draw readers into his works. In his youth, he spent much time in the Carnegie library in Waukegan, Illinois, reading such authors as H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and his favorite author, Edgar Rice Burroughs who wrote novels such as Tarzan of the Apes and The Warlord of Mars.^[9] He loved Burroughs' The Warlord of Mars so much that at the age of twelve he wrote his own sequel.^[10] An aunt read him short stories when he was a child.^[11] He used this library as a setting for much of his novel Something Wicked This Way Comes, and depicted Waukegan as "Green Town" in some of his other semi-autobiographical novels—Dandelion Wine, Farewell Summer—as well as in many of his short stories.^[12]

He attributes to two incidents his lifelong habit of writing every day. The first of these, occurring when he was three years old, was his mother's taking him to see Lon Chaney's performance in The Hunchback of Notre Dame^[13]. The second incident occurred in 1932, when a carnival entertainer, one Mr. Electrico,^[14] touched the young man on the nose with an electrified sword, made his hair stand on end, and shouted, "Live forever!" It was from then that Bradbury wanted to live forever and decided on his career as an author in order to do what he was told: live forever. It was at that age that Bradbury first started to do magic. Magic was his first great love. If he had not discovered writing, he would have become a magician.^[15]

The Bradbury family lived in Tucson, Arizona in 1926–27 and 1932–33 as the father pursued employment, each time returning to Waukegan, but eventually settled in Los Angeles in 1934, when Ray was thirteen. Bradbury graduated from Los Angeles High School, where he took poetry and short story writing courses that furthered his interest in writing,^[16] but he did not attend college. Instead, he sold newspapers at the corner of South Norton Avenue and Olympic Boulevard. In regard to his education, Bradbury said:

It was in UCLA's Powell Library, in a study room with typewriters for rent, that Bradbury wrote his classic story of a book-burning future, The Fireman, which contained about 25,000 words. It was later published at about 50,000 words under the name, Fahrenheit 451.^[18]

Career[link]

Bradbury in 1975

Ray Bradbury was free to start a career in writing when, owing to his bad eyesight, he was rejected admission into the military during World War II. Having been inspired by science fiction heroes like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, Bradbury began to publish science fiction stories in fanzines in 1938. Bradbury was invited by Forrest J Ackerman to attend the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society, which at the time met at Clifton’s Cafeteria in downtown Los Angeles. This was where he met the writers Robert A. Heinlein, Emil Petaja, Fredric Brown, Henry Kuttner, Leigh Brackett, and Jack Williamson.^{[citation needed]} His first published story was "Hollerbochen's Dilemma", which appeared in the fanzine Imagination! in January, 1938. Launching his own fanzine in 1939, titled Futuria Fantasia, he wrote most of its four issues, each limited to under 100 copies. Between 1941 and 1947, he was a contributor to Rob Wagner's film magazine, Script.

Bradbury's first paid piece, "Pendulum", written with Henry Hasse, was published in the pulp magazine Super Science Stories in November 1941, for which he earned $15.^[19] He became a full-time writer by the end of 1942. His first collection of short stories, Dark Carnival, was published in 1947 by Arkham House, a small press in Sauk City, Wis., owned by writer August Derleth.

A chance encounter in a Los Angeles bookstore with the British expatriate writer Christopher Isherwood gave Bradbury the opportunity to put The Martian Chronicles into the hands of a respected critic. Isherwood's glowing review^[20] followed.

Once described as a "Midwest surrealist", he is generally labeled a science fiction writer. Bradbury resists that categorization, however:

First of all, I don't write science fiction. I've only done one science fiction book and that's Fahrenheit 451, based on reality. It was named so to represent the temperature at which paper ignites. Science fiction is a depiction of the real. Fantasy is a depiction of the unreal. So Martian Chronicles is not science fiction, it's fantasy. It couldn't happen, you see? That's the reason it's going to be around a long time—because it's a Greek myth, and myths have staying power.^[21]

On another occasion, Bradbury observed that the novel touches on the alienation of people by media:

In writing the short novel Fahrenheit 451 I thought I was describing a world that might evolve in four or five decades. But only a few weeks ago, in Beverly Hills one night, a husband and wife passed me, walking their dog. I stood staring after them, absolutely stunned. The woman held in one hand a small cigarette-package-sized radio, its antenna quivering. From this sprang tiny copper wires which ended in a dainty cone plugged into her right ear. There she was, oblivious to man and dog, listening to far winds and whispers and soap-opera cries, sleep-walking, helped up and down curbs by a husband who might just as well not have been there. This was not fiction.^[22]

Besides his fiction work, Bradbury has written many short essays on the arts and culture, attracting the attention of critics in this field. Bradbury also hosted "The Ray Bradbury Theater" which was based on his short stories. Bradbury was a consultant for the American Pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair and the original exhibit housed in Epcot's Spaceship Earth geosphere at Walt Disney World.^[23][24][25] In the 1980s, he concentrated on detective fiction.^[26]

Personal life[link]

Ray Bradbury married Marguerite McClure (1922–2003) in 1947, and they had four daughters. Bradbury has never obtained a driver's license.^[27]

Bradbury was a close friend of Charles Addams, and Addams illustrated the first of Bradbury's stories about the Elliotts, a family that would resemble Addams' own Addams Family placed in rural Illinois. Bradbury's first story about them was "Homecoming," published in the 1946 Halloween issue of Mademoiselle, with Addams illustrations. He and Addams planned a larger collaborative work that would tell the family's complete history, but it never materialized, and according to a 2001 interview, they went their separate ways.^[28] In October 2001, Bradbury published all the Family stories he had written in one book with a connecting narrative, From the Dust Returned, featuring a wraparound Addams cover of the original 'Homecoming' illustration.^[29]

Another close friend is animator Ray Harryhausen. During a BAFTA 2010 awards tribute in honour of Ray Harryhausen's 90th birthday, Bradbury talks of how he first met Harryhausen at Forrest J Ackerman's house when they were both 18 years old. Their shared love for Sci-Fi, King Kong, and the King Vidor directed film The Fountainhead, written by Ayn Rand, was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. These early influences inspired the pair to believe in themselves and affirm their career choices. Since their first meeting they have kept in touch at least once a month, spanning over 70 years of friendship.^[30].

Bradbury made regular appearances at science fiction conventions until 2009 when he retired from the circuit on the grounds of old age and lack of energy.^{[citation needed]}

Despite the numerous (and often prescient) technological predictions of his novels, he has expressed skepticism about the value of the Internet to society, stating that it has reduced people's ability to communicate and hold conversations with each other.^{[citation needed]} He has also exhibited scepticism with regard to modern technology by resisting the conversion of his work into e-books and stating that

"We have too many cellphones. We've got too many internets. We have got to get rid of those machines. We have too many machines now."^[31]

Bradbury has chosen a burial place at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery and a headstone that reads "Author of Fahrenheit 451".^[32][33]

Critical reception[link]

Critical opinion of Bradbury's work is sharply divided. In his review of The Martian Chronicles,^[20] Christopher Isherwood wrote:

... the sheer lift and power of a truly original imagination exhilarates... His is a very great and unusual talent.

At the other extreme, science fiction author and critic Damon Knight wrote:^[34]

Although [Bradbury] has a large following among science fiction readers, there is at least an equally large contingent of people who cannot stomach his work at all... His imagination is mediocre; he borrows nearly all his backgrounds and props, and distorts them badly; wherever he is required to invent anything—a planet, a Martian, a machine—the image is flat and unconvincing.

Bibliography[link]

Adaptations to other media[link]

From 1951 to 1954, 27 of Bradbury's stories were adapted by Al Feldstein for EC Comics, and 16 of these were collected in the paperbacks, The Autumn People (1965) and Tomorrow Midnight (1966), both published by Ballantine Books with cover illustrations by Frank Frazetta.

Also in the early 1950s, adaptations of Bradbury's stories were televised on a variety of anthology shows, including Tales of Tomorrow, Lights Out, Out There, Suspense, CBS Television Workshop, Jane Wyman's Fireside Theatre, Star Tonight, Windows and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. "The Merry-Go-Round," a half-hour film adaptation of Bradbury's "The Black Ferris," praised by Variety, was shown on Starlight Summer Theater in 1954 and NBC's Sneak Preview in 1956. During that same period, several stories were adapted for radio drama, notably on the science fiction anthologies Dimension X and its successor X Minus One.

Producer William Alland first brought Bradbury to movie theaters in 1953 with It Came from Outer Space, a Harry Essex screenplay developed from Bradbury's screen treatment "Atomic Monster". Three weeks later came the release of Eugène Lourié's The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), which featured one scene based on Bradbury's "The Fog Horn", about a sea monster mistaking the sound of a fog horn for the mating cry of a female. Bradbury's close friend Ray Harryhausen produced the stop-motion animation of the creature. Bradbury would later return the favor by writing a short story, "Tyrannosaurus Rex", about a stop-motion animator who strongly resembled Harryhausen. Over the next 50 years, more than 35 features, shorts, and TV movies were based on Bradbury's stories or screenplays.

Bradbury was hired in 1953 by director John Huston to work on the screenplay for the 1956 film Moby Dick, which was faithfully based on the novel by Herman Melville and starred Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab, Richard Basehart as Ishmael, and Orson Welles as Father Mapple. A significant result of the film was Bradbury's book Green Shadows, White Whale, a semi-fictionalized account of the making of the film, including Bradbury's dealings with Huston and his time in Ireland, where exterior scenes that were set in New Bedford, Massachusetts, were filmed.

Bradbury's short story I Sing the Body Electric (from the book of the same name) was adapted for the 100th episode of The Twilight Zone. The episode was first aired on May 18, 1962.

In 1965, three of Ray Bradbury's stories were adapted for the stage. These included The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, The Day It Rained Forever and Device Out Of Time. The latter was adapted from his 1957 novel Dandelion Wine. The plays debuted at the Coronet Theater in Hollywood and featured Booth Coleman, Joby Baker, Fredric Villani, Arnold Lessing, Eddie Sallia, Keith Taylor, Richard Bull, Gene Otis Shane, Henry T. Delgado, F. Murray Abraham, Anne Loos and Len Lesser. The director was Charles Rome Smith and the production company was Pandemonium Productions.

Oskar Werner and Julie Christie starred in Fahrenheit 451 (1966), an adaptation of Bradbury's novel directed by François Truffaut.

In 1966 Bradbury helped Lynn Garrison create AVIAN, a specialist aviation magazine. For the first issue Bradbury wrote a poem – Planes that land on grass.

In 1969, The Illustrated Man was brought to the big screen, starring Rod Steiger, Claire Bloom and Robert Drivas. Containing the prologue and three short stories from the book, the film received mediocre reviews.

The Martian Chronicles became a three-part TV miniseries starring Rock Hudson which was first broadcast by NBC in 1980. Bradbury found the miniseries "just boring".^[35]

The 1983 horror film Something Wicked This Way Comes, starring Jason Robards and Jonathan Pryce, is based on the Bradbury novel of the same name.

In 1984, Michael McDonough of Brigham Young University produced "Bradbury 13," a series of 13 audio adaptations of famous Ray Bradbury stories, in conjunction with National Public Radio. The full-cast dramatizations featured adaptations of "The Ravine," "Night Call, Collect," "The Veldt", "There Was an Old Woman," "Kaleidoscope," "Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed", "The Screaming Woman," "A Sound of Thunder," "The Man," "The Wind," "The Fox and the Forest," "Here There Be Tygers" and "The Happiness Machine". Voiceover actor Paul Frees provided narration, while Bradbury himself was responsible for the opening voiceover; Greg Hansen and Roger Hoffman scored the episodes. The series won a Peabody Award as well as two Gold Cindy awards and was released on CD on May 1, 2010. The series began airing on BBC Radio 4 Extra on June 12, 2011.

From 1985 to 1992 Bradbury hosted a syndicated anthology television series, The Ray Bradbury Theater, for which he adapted 65 of his stories. Each episode would begin with a shot of Bradbury in his office, gazing over mementoes of his life, which he states (in narrative) are used to spark ideas for stories. During the first two seasons, Bradbury also provided additional voiceover narration specific to the featured story and appeared on screen.

Five episodes of the USSR science fiction TV series This Fantastic World adapted Ray Bradbury's stories I Sing The Body Electric, Fahrenheit 451, A Piece of Wood, To the Chicago Abyss, and Forever and the Earth.^[36] A Soviet adaptation of "The Veldt" was filmed in 1987.^[37]

The 1998 film The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, released by Touchstone Pictures, was written by Ray Bradbury. It was based on his story "The Magic White Suit" originally published in The Saturday Evening Post in 1957. The story had also previously been adapted as a play, a musical, and a 1958 television version.

In 2002, Bradbury's own Pandemonium Theatre Company production of Fahrenheit 451 at Burbank's Falcon Theatre combined live acting with projected digital animation by the Pixel Pups. In 1984, Telarium released a for Commodore 64 based on Fahrenheit 451.^[38] Bradbury and director Charles Rome Smith co-founded Pandemonium in 1964, staging the New York production of The World of Ray Bradbury (1964), adaptations of "The Pedestrian", "The Veldt", and "To the Chicago Abyss."

In 2005, the film A Sound of Thunder was released, loosely based upon the short story of the same name. The film The Butterfly Effect revolves around the same theory as A Sound of Thunder and contains many references to its inspiration.^[39] Short film adaptations of A Piece of Wood and The Small Assassin were released in 2005 and 2007 respectively.^[40][41]

In 2005, it was reported that Bradbury was upset with filmmaker Michael Moore for using the title Fahrenheit 9/11, which is an allusion to Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, for his documentary about the George W. Bush administration. Bradbury expressed displeasure with Moore's use of the title but stated that his resentment was not politically motivated. Bradbury asserts that he does not want any of the money made by the movie, nor does he believe that he deserves it. He pressured Moore to change the name, but to no avail. Moore called Bradbury two weeks before the film's release to apologize, saying that the film's marketing had been set in motion a long time ago and it was too late to change the title.^[42]

In 2008, the film Ray Bradbury's Chrysalis was produced by Roger Lay Jr. for Urban Archipelago Films, based upon the short story of the same name. The film won the best feature award at the International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival in Phoenix. The film has international distribution by Arsenal Pictures and domestic distribution by Lightning Entertainment.^[43]

In 2010, The Martian Chronicles was adapted for radio by Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air.

Bradbury's works and approach to writing are documented in Terry Sanders' film Ray Bradbury: Story of a Writer (1963).

Honors[link]

• The Ray Bradbury Award, presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America for screenwriting, was named in Bradbury's honor.
• For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Ray Bradbury was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6644 Hollywood Blvd.
• In 1971, an impact crater on Earth's moon was named "Dandelion Crater" by the Apollo 15 astronauts, in honor of Bradbury's novel Dandelion Wine.
• Ray Bradbury Park was dedicated in Waukegan, Illinois in 1990. The author was present for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The park contains locations described in Dandelion Wine, most notably the "113 steps" stairs. In 2009 an interpretive panel designed by artist Michael Pavelich was added to the park detailing the history of Ray Bradbury and Ray Bradbury Park.
• An asteroid discovered in 1992 was named "9766 Bradbury" in his honor.
• In 1994, Bradbury received the Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award, presented annually by the Tulsa Library Trust.
• In 1994, He won an Emmy Award for the screenplay of The Halloween Tree.
• Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award for 2000 from the National Book Foundation.^[44]
• Honorary doctorate from Woodbury University in 2003. Bradbury presents the Ray Bradbury Creativity Award each year at Woodbury University. Winners include sculptor Robert Graham, actress Anjelica Huston, Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown, director Irvin Kershner, humorist Stan Freberg, and architect Jon A. Jerde.
• On November 17, 2004, Bradbury was the recipient of the National Medal of Arts, presented by President George W. Bush and Laura Bush. Bradbury has also received the World Fantasy Award life achievement, Stoker Award life achievement, SFWA Grand Master, SF Hall of Fame Living Inductee, and First Fandom Award. He received an Emmy Award for his work on The Halloween Tree. He received the Prometheus Award for Fahrenheit 451.
• On April 16, 2007, Bradbury received a special citation from The Pulitzer Board, "for his distinguished, prolific, and deeply influential career as an unmatched author of science fiction and fantasy."^[45]
• In 2007, Bradbury received the French Commandeur Ordre des Arts et des Lettres medal.
• In 2008, he was named SFPA Grandmaster.^[46]
• In 2010, Spike TV Scream Awards Comic-Con Icon Award went to Ray Bradbury
• In 2010, on occasion of his 90th birthday, Bradbury received Pulsar Award from Sarajevo SF Club PulSar

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Albright, Donn (1990). Bradbury Bits & Pieces: The Ray Bradbury Bibliography, 1974-88. Starmont House. ISBN 1-55742-151-X. 
• Eller, Jonathan R.; Touponce, William F. (2004). Ray Bradbury: The Life of Fiction. Kent State University Press. ISBN 0-87338-779-1. 
• Nolan, William F. (1975). The Ray Bradbury Companion: A Life and Career History, Photolog, and Comprehensive Checklist of Writings. Gale Research. ISBN 0-8103-0930-0. 
• Paradowski, Robert J.; Rhynes, Martha E. (2001). Ray Bradbury. Salem Press. 
• Reid, Robin Anne (2000). Ray Bradbury: A Critical Companion. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-30901-9. 
• Tuck, Donald H. (1974). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Chicago: Advent. pp. 61–63. ISBN 0-911682-20-1. 
• Weist, Jerry (2002). Bradbury, an Illustrated Life: A Journey to Far Metaphor. William Morrow and Company. ISBN 0-06-001182-3. 
• Weller, Sam (2005). The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-054581-X. 

Further Reading:

Eller, Jonathan B. Becoming Ray Bradbury. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-03629-8.

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Ray Bradbury

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ray Bradbury

• Ray Bradbury - Official Website
• Bradburymedia - detailed coverage of Bradbury's work in film, TV, radio, theatre
• Sam Weller (Spring 2010). "Ray Bradbury, The Art of Fiction No. 203". Paris Review. http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/6012/the-art-of-fiction-no-203-ray-bradbury. 
• Ray Bradbury at the Internet Movie Database
• Ray Bradbury at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Center for Ray Bradbury Studies
• Ray Bradbury: Story of a Writer, film by Terry Sanders
• Survey of Bradbury Scholarship - Chronological analysis of Bradbury criticism
• Full stories list with filter by collection, year and alphabet
• A film clip "Ray Bradbury: Story of a Writer by David L. Wolper" is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• Works by Ray Bradbury on Open Library at the Internet Archive
• Ray Bradbury biography at the Science Fiction Hall of Fame