432 Pythia

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

18 December 1897

Pronunciation

/ ˈ p ɪ θ i ə /

Named after

The Pythia

Alternative designations

1897 DO

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

115.48 yr (42179 d)

Aphelion

2.71405 AU (406.016 Gm )

Perihelion

2.02374 AU (302.747 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.36890 AU (354.382 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

3.65 yr (1331.7 d )

Mean anomaly

4.40721 °

Mean motion

0° 16 13.166 / day

Inclination

12.1207°

Longitude of ascending node

88.7589°

Argument of perihelion

173.983°

Dimensions

46.90 ± 0.8 km

Synodic rotation period

8.252 h (0.3438 d )

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Pythia

Followed by

433 Eros

Follows

431 Nephele

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

46.9

Orbital period

1333.536279135755

Image

Орбита астероида 432 (наклон).png

via Wikidata · CC0