Q136111

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

17 November 1928

Pronunciation

/ l ɒ ˈ r eɪ n /

Named after

Lorraine (French region)

Alternative designations

1928 WA · 1971 YK, A906 UE

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , background · Eos

Observation arc

110.62 yr (40,404 days)

Aphelion

3.3181 AU

Perihelion

2.8732 AU

Semi major axis

3.0956 AU

Orbital period sidereal

5.45 yr (1,989 days)

Mean anomaly

138.45 °

Mean motion

0° 10 51.6 / day

Inclination

10.744°

Longitude of ascending node

195.52°

Argument of perihelion

203.80°

Dimensions

62.15 km (derived) , 62.20 ± 1.7 km , 62.35 ± 20.00 km , 68.48 ± 0.79 km , 70.812 ± 29.31 km , 75.631 ± 0.625 km , 80.30 ± 26.49 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

75.631

Orbital period

1987.606424302364

via Wikidata · CC0