1154 Astronomia

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

K. Reinmuth

Discovery site

Heidelberg Obs.

Discovery date

8 February 1927

Pronunciation

/ æ s t r oʊ ˈ n oʊ m i ə /

Named after

astronomy , (a natural science )

Alternative designations

1927 CB · A911 RA

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , background

Observation arc

105.83 yr (38,656 days)

Aphelion

3.6308 AU

Perihelion

3.1511 AU

Semi major axis

3.3910 AU

Orbital period sidereal

6.24 yr (2,281 days)

Mean anomaly

22.461 °

Mean motion

0° 9 28.08 / day

Inclination

4.5323°

Longitude of ascending node

82.512°

Argument of perihelion

203.85°

Dimensions

55.4 ± 5.5 km , 55.715 ± 0.500 km , 57.253 ± 0.339 km , 59 ± 6 km , 59.68 ± 18.01 km , 60.10 ± 16.38 km , 61.08 km (SIMPS) , 64.20 ± 1.11 km

via Wikipedia infobox