24 Themis

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

Annibale de Gasparis

Discovery date

5 April 1853

Pronunciation

/ ˈ θ iː m ɪ s /

Named after

Themis

Alternative designations

1947 BA; 1955 OH

Minor planet category

Main belt ( Themis )

Adjectives

Themistian / θ ɪ ˈ m ɪ s t i ə n /

Aphelion

524.4 Gm , (3.505 AU )

Perihelion

415.9 million km, (2.780 AU)

Semi major axis

470.2 million km, (3.143 AU)

Orbital period sidereal

2035 d (5.57 yr )

Mean anomaly

346.1°

Inclination

0.7368°

Longitude of ascending node

36.39°

Argument of perihelion

109.0°

Earth moid

1.79422 AU

Jupiter moid

1.50402 AU

Dimensions

232 × 220 × 176 ± 14 km

via Wikipedia infobox