182 Elsa

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

7 February 1878

Pronunciation

/ ˈ ɛ l z ə /

Named after

uncertain; various suggestions

Alternative designations

A878 CC; 1948 XS;, 1950 HY

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( inner ) , Massalia · background

Observation arc

114.68 yr (41,886 d)

Aphelion

2.8656 AU

Perihelion

1.9657 AU

Semi major axis

2.4156 AU

Orbital period sidereal

3.75 yr (1,371 d)

Mean anomaly

282.09 °

Mean motion

0° 15 45 / day

Inclination

2.0054°

Longitude of ascending node

107.18°

Argument of perihelion

310.85°

Mean diameter

43.68 ± 4.1 km , 44.000 ± 4.279 km , 44 ± 0.1 km , 45.15 ± 0.62 km , 45.72 ± 7.82 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Followed by

183 Istria

Follows

181 Eucharis

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

39.52

Orbital period

1371.721404671669

Image

182Elsa (Lightcurve Inversion).png

via Wikidata · CC0