476 Hedwig

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

Luigi Carnera

Discovery site

Heidelberg

Discovery date

17 August 1901

Pronunciation

/ ˈ h ɛ d w ɪ ɡ / , German: [ ˈheːtvɪç ]

Alternative designations

1901 GQ

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

114.66 yr (41880 d)

Aphelion

2.843586228752500 AU (425.39444497321 Gm )

Perihelion

2.458818277348141 AU (367.83397872952 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.651202253050 AU (396.6142118513 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

4.32 yr (1576.7 d )

Mean anomaly

277.3588495717540 °

Mean motion

0° 13 41.944 / day

Inclination

10.92403953516030°

Longitude of ascending node

286.3817373411550°

Argument of perihelion

0.2030128925787450°

Dimensions

116.76 ± 2.6 km

Synodic rotation period

27.33 h (1.139 d )

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

138.493

Orbital period

1575.495789167971

via Wikidata · CC0