25 Phocaea

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. Chacornac

Discovery site

Marseille Obs.

Discovery date

6 April 1853

Pronunciation

/ f oʊ ˈ s iː ə /

Named after

Phōcæa , (ancient Greek city)

Alternative designations

1956 GC

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( inner ) , Phocaea

Adjectives

Phocaean / f oʊ ˈ s iː ə n /

Observation arc

157.44 yr (57,504 days)

Aphelion

3.0104 AU

Perihelion

1.7899 AU

Semi major axis

2.4001 AU

Orbital period sidereal

3.72 yr (1,358 days)

Mean anomaly

13.891 °

Mean motion

0° 15 54.36 / day

Inclination

21.606°

Longitude of ascending node

214.14°

Argument of perihelion

90.245°

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Phocaea

Followed by

26 Proserpina

Follows

24 Themis

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

61.054

Mass

599

Orbital period

1358.299287264658

Image

25Phocaea (Lightcurve Inversion).png

via Wikidata · CC0