424 Gratia

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

Auguste Charlois

Discovery date

31 December 1896

Pronunciation

/ ˈ ɡ r eɪ ʃ ( i ) ə /

Named after

The Charites

Alternative designations

1896 DF

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

117.66 yr (42975 d)

Aphelion

3.07379 AU (459.832 Gm )

Perihelion

2.47464 AU (370.201 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.77421 AU (415.016 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

4.62 yr (1687.8 d )

Mean anomaly

350.256 °

Mean motion

0° 12 47.887 / day

Inclination

8.20911°

Longitude of ascending node

99.2454°

Argument of perihelion

331.822°

Dimensions

102.565 ± 0.644 km

Synodic rotation period

19.47 h (0.811 d )

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Charites

Followed by

425 Cornelia

Follows

423 Diotima

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

102.565

Orbital period

1686.720713502423

via Wikidata · CC0