Q112402

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

A. Schaumasse

Discovery site

Nice Obs.

Discovery date

23 November 1921

Pronunciation

/ æ l ˈ s eɪ ʃ ə /

Named after

Alsace (French province)

Alternative designations

1921 LF · 1961 AA, A908 UE

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) , background , EUN – ( interloper )

Observation arc

108.67 yr (39,693 days)

Aphelion

3.0666 AU

Perihelion

2.2182 AU

Semi major axis

2.6424 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.30 yr (1,569 days)

Mean anomaly

86.606 °

Mean motion

0° 13 46.2 / day

Inclination

13.774°

Longitude of ascending node

83.539°

Argument of perihelion

6.2645°

Dimensions

55.31 ± 13.87 km , 60.71 ± 0.88 km , 60.867 ± 0.527 km , 62.92 ± 0.58 km , 63.75 ± 1.7 km , 64.724 ± 0.657 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

60.867

Orbital period

1566.130993466277

via Wikidata · CC0