Q138260

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

6 November 1931

Pronunciation

/ ˈ p æ t r i ə , ˈ p eɪ t r i ə /

Named after

Latin for fatherland

Alternative designations

1931 VW · 1968 UK 1 , 1970 EY 2 · A898 VB

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) , background

Observation arc

118.97 yr (43,455 days)

Aphelion

2.7476 AU

Perihelion

2.3946 AU

Semi major axis

2.5711 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.12 yr (1,506 days)

Mean anomaly

272.77 °

Mean motion

0° 14 20.76 / day

Inclination

11.869°

Longitude of ascending node

229.21°

Argument of perihelion

201.70°

Dimensions

30.72 ± 7.10 km , 31.813 ± 8.920 km , 32.33 ± 0.15 km , 32.40 ± 1.1 km , 32.48 km (derived) , 33.48 ± 0.49 km , 34.98 ± 10.26 km

via Wikipedia infobox