Q137825

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

G. Neujmin

Discovery site

Simeiz Obs.

Discovery date

22 July 1930

Pronunciation

/ ˈ s ɪ θ i ə , ˈ s ɪ ð i ə /

Named after

Scythia (Historic region)

Alternative designations

1930 OB · 1933 DN, 1935 OA · 1951 JB, 1956 EM 1 · 1957 KQ

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , Ursula

Observation arc

86.94 yr (31,756 days)

Aphelion

3.4451 AU

Perihelion

2.8533 AU

Semi major axis

3.1492 AU

Orbital period sidereal

5.59 yr (2,041 days)

Mean anomaly

142.14 °

Mean motion

0° 10 35.04 / day

Inclination

14.935°

Longitude of ascending node

274.24°

Argument of perihelion

139.44°

Dimensions

66.780 ± 0.710 km , 67.14 ± 4.4 km , 72.95 ± 20.42 km , 73.53 ± 20.87 km , 77.708 ± 1.662 km , 83.65 ± 1.41 km

via Wikipedia infobox