1135 Colchis

Picture of the Day · NASA

Pathfinder on Mars

2026-07-04

On July 4th, 1997, using its own array of fireworks, a parachute, and a cocoon of airbags, the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft bounced like a giant beach ball at least 15 times before it came to rest on the surface of Mars at 10:07 AM Pacific Daylight Time. After its then novel airbag-assisted landing sequence was completed, Pathfinder transmitted this color mosaic to mission operators on Earth. In the scene from another world, the Mars Sojourner robot rover is visible in the foreground, crouched on top of the unfolded Pathfinder. About the size of a large house cat, the six-wheeled, solar-powered Sojourner became the first successful Martian rover. Surrounding Pathfinder are deflated airbags and the rock-strewn terrain of the Ares Vallis floodplain. In the distance Martian hills appear against a dusty brownish sky. The Pathfinder lander was subsequently renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station.

via NASA APOD

Key facts

Discovered by

G. Neujmin

Discovery site

Simeiz Obs.

Discovery date

3 October 1929

Pronunciation

/ ˈ k ɒ l k ɪ s /

Named after

Colchis (ancient Kingdom)

Alternative designations

1929 TA · 1936 FJ 1 , 1940 EP · 1954 LL, 1958 FO · A911 MJ, A916 UH

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) background

Observation arc

88.15 yr (32,198 days)

Aphelion

2.9744 AU

Perihelion

2.3558 AU

Semi major axis

2.6651 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.35 yr (1,589 days)

Mean anomaly

87.849 °

Mean motion

0° 13 35.4 / day

Inclination

4.5409°

Longitude of ascending node

350.73°

Argument of perihelion

3.6675°

Mean diameter

45.341 ± 12.31 km , 46.82 ± 0.65 km , 47.07 ± 13.06 km , 49.12 ± 16.46 km , 49.805 ± 0.795 km , 50.50 km (derived) , 50.592 ± 0.953 km , 50.64 ± 1.5 km

via Wikipedia infobox