1864 Daedalus

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

T. Gehrels

Discovery site

Palomar Obs.

Discovery date

24 March 1971

Pronunciation

/ ˈ d ɛ d ə l ə s /

Named after

Daedalus ( Greek mythology )

Alternative designations

1971 FA

Minor planet category

Apollo · NEO

Observation arc

46.14 yr (16,854 days)

Aphelion

2.3586 AU

Perihelion

0.5634 AU

Semi major axis

1.4610 AU

Orbital period sidereal

1.77 yr (645 days)

Mean anomaly

23.049 °

Mean motion

0° 33 29.16 / day

Inclination

22.211°

Longitude of ascending node

6.6379°

Argument of perihelion

325.64°

Earth moid

0.2693 AU

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

3.7

Orbital period

644.9145218905528

via Wikidata · CC0