Q147330

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

Johann Palisa

Discovery date

17 October 1879

Pronunciation

German: [ ˈhɛdaː ]

Named after

Hedwig Winnecke

Alternative designations

A879 UA, 1932 CL 1 , 1934 XJ, 1953 BF

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

133.61 yr (48801 d)

Aphelion

2.3497 AU (351.51 Gm )

Perihelion

2.2177 AU (331.76 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.2837 AU (341.64 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

3.45 yr (1260.5 d )

Average orbital speed

19.71 km/s

Mean anomaly

34.9926 °

Mean motion

0° 17 8.124 / day

Inclination

3.8036°

Longitude of ascending node

29.212°

Time of perihelion

2023-Feb-21

Argument of perihelion

192.936°

via Wikipedia infobox