139 Juewa

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

James Craig Watson

Discovery date

10 October 1874

Pronunciation

English: / dʒ u ˈ eɪ w ɑː / joo- AY -wah , Mandarin: [ɻwe ̂ ɪxwa ̌ ]

Alternative designations

A874 TA

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

121.07 yr (44222 d)

Aphelion

3.26884 AU (489.012 Gm )

Perihelion

2.29261 AU (342.970 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.78073 AU (415.991 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

4.64 yr (1693.7 d )

Mean anomaly

60.2817 °

Mean motion

0° 12 45.187 / day

Inclination

10.9127°

Longitude of ascending node

1.83417°

Argument of perihelion

165.566°

Dimensions

148.3 ± 4.3 km × 142.3 ± 15.6 km

Mean diameter

151.116 ± 1.596 km , 161.43 ± 7.38 km

Mass

(5.54 ± 2.20) × 10 kg , (3.262 ± 0.778/0.933) × 10 kg

via Wikipedia infobox