1930 Lucifer

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

E. Roemer

Discovery site

NOFS ( USNO )

Discovery date

29 October 1964

Pronunciation

/ ˈ lj uː s ɪ f ər / LEW -si-fər

Named after

Lucifer (religion)

Alternative designations

1964 UA · 1954 SQ, 1954 TC

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer )

Observation arc

62.61 yr (22,870 days)

Aphelion

3.3078 AU

Perihelion

2.4883 AU

Semi major axis

2.8981 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.93 yr (1,802 days)

Mean anomaly

334.70 °

Mean motion

0° 11 59.28 / day

Inclination

14.057°

Longitude of ascending node

318.53°

Argument of perihelion

341.37°

Dimensions

26.90 km (derived) , 27.00 ± 3.2 km , 30.92 ± 0.84 km , 34.04 ± 11.55 km , 34.437 ± 0.168 km , 36.335 ± 0.376 km , 39.61 ± 0.50 km

via Wikipedia infobox