Q147415

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

Purple Mountain Obs.

Discovery site

Purple Mountain Obs.

Discovery date

20 December 1965

Named after

Henan (Province of China)

Alternative designations

1965 YA · 1933 RE, 1938 WR · 1949 FL, 1949 FP 1 · 1962 CL, 1963 KA · 1969 VA 1 , 1971 BG 1 · 1972 LX, 1973 QX 1 · 1976 GR 7

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , Henan

Observation arc

68.61 yr (25,060 days)

Aphelion

2.9312 AU

Perihelion

2.4654 AU

Semi major axis

2.6983 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.43 yr (1,619 days)

Mean anomaly

276.34 °

Mean motion

0° 13 20.64 / day

Inclination

3.8343°

Longitude of ascending node

118.14°

Argument of perihelion

294.54°

Dimensions

13.356 ± 0.036 km , 13.67 km (calculated) , 13.941 ± 0.082 km , 16.56 ± 4.50 km , 17.61 ± 0.32 km , 18 km , 18.34 ± 1.20 km

Synodic rotation period

24 h , 110 ± 1 h

via Wikipedia infobox