267 Tirza

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

Auguste Charlois

Discovery date

27 May 1887

Pronunciation

/ ˈ t ɜːr z ə /

Named after

Tirzah

Alternative designations

A887 KB, 1922 AA, 1965 GC

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

108.44 yr (39609 d)

Aphelion

3.04773 AU (455.934 Gm )

Perihelion

2.50143 AU (374.209 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.77458 AU (415.071 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

4.62 yr (1688.1 d )

Mean anomaly

327.898 °

Mean motion

0° 12 47.732 / day

Inclination

6.00306°

Longitude of ascending node

73.7538°

Argument of perihelion

196.255°

Dimensions

52.68 ± 3.1 km

Synodic rotation period

7.648 h (0.3187 d )

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Followed by

268 Adorea

Follows

266 Aline

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

55.998

Orbital period

1686.579172510313

via Wikidata · CC0