143 Adria

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

J. Palisa

Discovery site

Austrian Naval Obs.

Discovery date

23 February 1875

Pronunciation

/ ˈ eɪ d r i ə /

Named after

Adriatic Sea

Alternative designations

A875 DA; 1960 WK 1

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) , background

Observation arc

138.03 yr (50,415 d)

Aphelion

2.9688 AU

Perihelion

2.5557 AU

Semi major axis

2.7622 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.59 yr (1,677 d)

Mean anomaly

354.65 °

Mean motion

0° 12 52.92 / day

Inclination

11.442°

Longitude of ascending node

333.04°

Argument of perihelion

252.89°

Mean diameter

89.93 ± 1.9 km

via Wikipedia infobox