226 Weringia

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

19 July 1882

Pronunciation

/ v ɛ ˈ r ɪ ŋ ɡ i ə /

Named after

Währing

Alternative designations

A882 OA, 1912 CC

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

133.57 yr (48786 d)

Aphelion

3.26370 AU (488.243 Gm )

Perihelion

2.16153 AU (323.360 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.71261 AU (405.801 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

4.47 yr (1631.9 d )

Average orbital speed

18.09 km/s

Mean anomaly

14.8722 °

Mean motion

0° 13 14.189 / day

Inclination

15.9657°

Longitude of ascending node

134.970°

Argument of perihelion

154.117°

Dimensions

33.83 ± 1.5 km

via Wikipedia infobox