Q137327

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

25 January 1933

Pronunciation

/ ɡ ə ˈ l æ n θ ə s /

Named after

Galanthus (snowdrop), (herbaceous plants)

Alternative designations

1933 BD · 1971 OQ

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) , background

Observation arc

84.84 yr (30,987 days)

Aphelion

3.2465 AU

Perihelion

1.8560 AU

Semi major axis

2.5513 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.08 yr (1,488 days)

Mean anomaly

249.60 °

Mean motion

0° 14 30.84 / day

Inclination

15.169°

Longitude of ascending node

292.02°

Argument of perihelion

217.17°

Dimensions

17.18 ± 5.39 km , 19.394 ± 0.152 km , 19.54 ± 0.36 km , 20.062 ± 0.112 km , 20.33 ± 4.93 km , 21.00 ± 2.9 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

20.062

Orbital period

1484.540051624607

via Wikidata · CC0