319 Leona

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

A. Charlois

Discovery site

Nice Obs.

Discovery date

8 October 1891

Pronunciation

/ l iː ˈ oʊ n ə /

Named after

unknown Leona

Alternative designations

A920 HE

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer )

Observation arc

125.32 yr (45,774 days)

Aphelion

4.1451 AU

Perihelion

2.6655 AU

Semi major axis

3.4053 AU

Orbital period sidereal

6.28 yr (2,295 days)

Mean anomaly

21.414 °

Mean motion

0° 9 24.48 / day

Inclination

10.564°

Longitude of ascending node

184.95°

Argument of perihelion

228.27°

Dimensions

79.6 km × 54.8 km , (± 2.2 km × 1.3 km )

via Wikipedia infobox