Bert Gentry Lee (born March 29, 1942) is an American scientist, space engineer, and

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

author.

Space career

Lee was director of science analysis and mission planning during the Viking missions to Mars in the 1970s. He was also the chief engineer for the ''

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

'' mission from 1977 to 1988. He worked on the ''

Stardust Stardust may refer to: * A type of cosmic dust, composed of particles in space Entertainment Songs * “Stardust” (1927 song), by Hoagy Carmichael * “Stardust” (David Essex song), 1974 * “Stardust” (Lena Meyer-Landrut song), 2012 * ...

'' and '' Deep Impact'' missions to comets in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He had engineering oversight responsibility for the

Mars Exploration Rover NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission was a robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers, ''Spirit (rover), Spirit'' and ''Opportunity (rover), Opportunity'', exploring the planet Mars. It began in 2003 with the launch of the two rove ...

s, which landed in January 2004 and the ''

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter The ''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' (''MRO'') is a spacecraft designed to search for the existence of water on Mars and provide support for missions to Mars, as part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program. It was launched from Cape Canaveral on Au ...

'' (2006). In 2009, Gentry narrated and appeared in Discovery Channel's two-hour special ''Are We Alone?'', which examined the possibility of life on other worlds in the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...

Writing career

Lee co-wrote, with

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. Clarke co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A ...

, the books ''

Cradle Cradle or Cradles may refer to: * Cradle (bed) * Bassinet, a small bed, often on rockers, in which babies and small children sleep Mechanical devices * Cradle (circus act), or aerial cradle or casting cradle used in an aerial circus act * Crad ...

'' in 1988, ''

Rama II Phutthaloetla Naphalai (born Chim; 24 February 1767 or 1768 – 21 July 1824), also known by his regnal name Rama II, was the second King of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, ruling from 1809 to 1824. In 1809, Itsarasunthon succeeded his father R ...

'' in 1989, '' The Garden of Rama'' in 1991 and ''

Rama Revealed ''Rama Revealed'' (1993) is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke and Gentry Lee. It is the last in a four-book series of Clarke's ''Rendezvous with Rama'' by these authors and reveals the mysteries behind the enigmatic ''Rama'' spa ...

'' in 1993. He collaborated with

Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is his research on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, including e ...

on the 1980 series ''Cosmos''. ''

Rendezvous With Rama ''Rendezvous with Rama'' is a 1973 science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke. Set in the 2130s, the story involves a cylindrical alien starship that enters the Solar System. The story is told from the point of view of a group ...

'' was written in 1972 and Clarke had no intention of writing a sequel. Lee turned the Rama series into a more character-driven story following the adventures of Nicole des Jardins Wakefield, who becomes the main character in ''

'', '' The Garden of Rama'', and ''

''. When asked, Arthur C. Clarke said that Gentry Lee did the writing while he was a source of ideas. Lee went on to write three more science fiction novels after ''Rama Revealed''. Two take place in the Rama universe (''

Bright Messengers Bright may refer to: Common meanings *Bright, an adjective meaning giving off or reflecting illumination; see Brightness *Bright, an adjective meaning someone with intelligence People * Bright (surname) * Bright (given name) *Bright, the stage na ...

'', ''

Double Full Moon Night Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A 2 ...

'') while one makes several references to it ('' Tranquility Wars'').

Awards

In 2006, he was awarded the Masursky Award for Meritorious Service to Planetary Science by the

Division for Planetary Sciences The Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) is a division within the American Astronomical Society (AAS) devoted to Solar System research. It was founded in 1968. The first organizing committee members were: Edward Anders, Lewis Branscomb, Josep ...

of the

American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...

, for his lifetime of contributions to systems engineering of robotic planetary missions. In 2021, he was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

for contributions to 20 planetary exploration missions to Mars, Jupiter, asteroids, and comets.

Bibliography

*''

'' (1989) (with Arthur C. Clarke) *''

'' (1989) (with Arthur C. Clarke) *'' The Garden of Rama'' (1991) (with Arthur C. Clarke) *''

'' (1993) (with Arthur C. Clarke) *''Bright Messengers'' (1996) *''Double Full Moon Night'' (2000) *''Tranquility Wars'' (2001) *''A History of the Twenty-First Century'' (2003) (with Michael White)

Television

*''Cosmos: A Personal Voyage'' (1980) (co-writer) *''Are We Alone?'' (2009) (narrator) *''Living Universe: Journey to Another Stars'' (2018)

References

External links

* * * * * * (segment on Gentry Lee from 1:08:19 to 1:11:09 in video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Gentry Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American engineers American male novelists American science fiction writers 1942 births Jet Propulsion Laboratory 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Fellows of Jet Propulsion Laboratory