728 Leonisis

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

J. Palisa

Discovery date

16 February 1912

Pronunciation

/ l iː ə ˈ n aɪ s ɪ s /

Alternative designations

1912 NU; A907 UE;, 1941 WR; 1968 UT

Minor planet category

Main belt ( Flora family )

Observation arc

103.98 yr (37979 d)

Aphelion

2.4509 AU (366.65 Gm )

Perihelion

2.0561 AU (307.59 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.2535 AU (337.12 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

3.38 yr (1235.6 d )

Average orbital speed

19.80 km/s

Mean anomaly

317.487 °

Mean motion

0° 17 28.86 / day

Inclination

4.2564°

Longitude of ascending node

82.661°

Argument of perihelion

55.396°

Synodic rotation period

5.5783 h (0.23243 d )

Spectral type

A or Ld

via Wikipedia infobox