Sci-Fi Tales Propel Space Tech

Jules Verne anticipated man’s first trip to the moon in his 1865 novel, From the Earth to the Moon. Arthur C Clarke foresaw space stations and sentient computers in his classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Ray Bradbury wrote about extraterrestrial civilisation in The Martian Chronicles decades before NASA’s Mars Rover surveyed the planet. These accounts, written before space travel was possible, have inspired generations of space scientists and explorers. Now, the European Space Agency hopes to recognise young writers and inspire future astrophysicists and astronauts by sponsoring the Clarke-Bradbury International Science Fiction Competition — via Wired