222 Lucia

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

Johann Palisa

Discovery date

9 February 1882

Pronunciation

/ ˈ l uː ʃ i ə / , German: [ ˈluːtsiɐ ]

Alternative designations

A882 CA, 1899 EC, 1919 AB

Minor planet category

Main belt ( Themis )

Observation arc

117.10 yr (42769 d)

Aphelion

3.5529 AU (531.51 Gm )

Perihelion

2.7296 AU (408.34 Gm)

Semi major axis

3.1412 AU (469.92 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

5.57 yr (2033.5 d )

Average orbital speed

16.82 km/s

Mean anomaly

349.267 °

Mean motion

0° 10 37.308 / day

Inclination

2.1494°

Longitude of ascending node

80.141°

Argument of perihelion

180.953°

Dimensions

54.66 ± 3.9 km

Synodic rotation period

7.80 h (0.325 d )

via Wikipedia infobox