Q135963

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

9 December 1928

Pronunciation

/ s ɪ ˈ r ɪ ŋ ɡ ə /

Named after

Syringa ( flowering plant )

Alternative designations

1928 XA

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) , background

Observation arc

88.80 yr (32,435 days)

Aphelion

3.5342 AU

Perihelion

1.7257 AU

Semi major axis

2.6299 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.27 yr (1,558 days)

Mean anomaly

351.89 °

Mean motion

0° 13 51.96 / day

Inclination

6.4413°

Longitude of ascending node

128.66°

Argument of perihelion

277.48°

Mean diameter

19.711 ± 0.260 km , 22.10 ± 0.7 km , 22.13 km (derived) , 23.244 ± 0.213 km , 24.20 ± 0.53 km , 24.30 ± 1.17 km

via Wikipedia infobox