Q138015

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

15 June 1934

Pronunciation

/ k ɒ ˈ p ɜːr n ɪ k ə s /

Named after

Nicolaus Copernicus , (Polish astronomer)

Alternative designations

1934 LA

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( inner ) , background

Observation arc

83.38 yr (30,455 days)

Aphelion

2.9898 AU

Perihelion

1.8547 AU

Semi major axis

2.4222 AU

Orbital period sidereal

3.77 yr (1,377 days)

Mean anomaly

10.211 °

Mean motion

0° 15 41.04 / day

Inclination

23.359°

Longitude of ascending node

253.19°

Argument of perihelion

29.379°

Dimensions

9.80 km (derived) , 9.996 ± 0.203 km , 10.04 ± 0.34 km , 10.192 ± 0.029 km , 10.70 ± 0.19 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

9.996

Orbital period

1376.698856291748

Image

001322-asteroid shape model (1322) Coppernicus.png

via Wikidata · CC0