Q135760

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

31 August 1927

Pronunciation

/ æ m ə ˈ r ɪ l ɪ s /

Named after

Amaryllis , ( flowering plant )

Alternative designations

1927 QH · 1964 CL, A908 HB · A915 QA, A921 RC

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , background

Observation arc

109.40 yr (39,957 days)

Aphelion

3.3182 AU

Perihelion

3.0506 AU

Semi major axis

3.1844 AU

Orbital period sidereal

5.68 yr (2,076 days)

Mean anomaly

40.309 °

Mean motion

0° 10 24.24 / day

Inclination

6.6396°

Longitude of ascending node

139.98°

Argument of perihelion

127.53°

Dimensions

65.55 ± 14.66 km , 67.14 ± 21.21 km , 69.281 ± 0.124 km , 69.68 km (derived) , 69.95 ± 1.4 km , 71.025 ± 1.105 km , 72.93 ± 0.78 km

via Wikipedia infobox