762 Pulcova

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

G. N. Neujmin

Discovery date

3 September 1913

Pronunciation

/ ˈ p ʊ l k ə v ə /

Named after

Pulkovo Heights

Alternative designations

1913 SQ

Minor planet category

Main belt

Adjectives

Pulcovian / p ʊ l ˈ k oʊ v i ə n /

Observation arc

100.08 yr (36553 d)

Aphelion

3.4801 AU (520.62 Gm ) (Q)

Perihelion

2.8291 AU (423.23 Gm) (q)

Semi major axis

3.1546 AU (471.92 Gm) (a)

Eccentricity

0.10319 (e)

Orbital period sidereal

5.60 yr (2046.5 d )

Mean anomaly

348.62 ° (M)

Mean motion

0° 10 33.276 / day (n)

Inclination

13.089° (i)

Longitude of ascending node

305.76° (Ω)

Argument of perihelion

189.54° (ω)

via Wikipedia infobox