Q132843

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

K. Reinmuth

Discovery site

Heidelberg Obs.

Discovery date

10 May 1924

Pronunciation

/ tj uː ˈ t oʊ n i ə /

Named after

Land of the Teutons

Alternative designations

1924 RO · 1925 XF, 1929 RP · 1949 KX, 1954 UY 1 · 1958 RG, 1958 UP · A907 EE

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle )

Observation arc

109.95 yr (40,158 days)

Aphelion

2.9470 AU

Perihelion

2.2044 AU

Semi major axis

2.5757 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.13 yr (1,510 days)

Mean anomaly

147.35 °

Mean motion

0° 14 18.24 / day

Inclination

4.2515°

Longitude of ascending node

59.962°

Argument of perihelion

228.45°

Dimensions

15.20 ± 1.3 km , 15.30 km (derived) , 16.85 ± 0.61 km , 17.511 ± 0.213 km , 17.929 ± 0.192 km

via Wikipedia infobox