Q137826

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

17 October 1930

Pronunciation

/ s ɪ ˈ m ɪər i ə /

Named after

Cimmerians , (ancient people of Crimea)

Alternative designations

1930 UF · 1933 QF 1

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( inner )

Observation arc

85.74 yr (31,315 days)

Aphelion

2.4689 AU

Perihelion

2.0316 AU

Semi major axis

2.2503 AU

Orbital period sidereal

3.38 yr (1,233 days)

Mean anomaly

157.34 °

Mean motion

0° 17 31.2 / day

Inclination

3.9506°

Longitude of ascending node

233.87°

Argument of perihelion

207.34°

Dimensions

7.85 ± 1.78 km , 9.26 ± 1.15 km , 9.419 ± 0.051 km , 10.058 ± 0.059 km , 10.54 km (calculated)

via Wikipedia infobox