Q154972

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

S. I. Bailey

Discovery site

Boyden Stn.(Arequipa)

Discovery date

30 June 1902

Named after

Mama Qura , second queen of the Kingdom of Cuzco

Alternative designations

1902 LK · 1947 OH

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle )

Observation arc

110.44 yr (40,337 days)

Aphelion

3.3127 AU

Perihelion

2.1296 AU

Semi major axis

2.7212 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.49 yr (1,640 days)

Mean anomaly

147.01 °

Mean motion

0° 13 10.56 / day

Inclination

12.888°

Longitude of ascending node

104.63°

Argument of perihelion

247.92°

Dimensions

27.19 ± 1.00 km , 29.06 km (derived) , 30.02 ± 2.3 km ( IRAS :40) , 30.39 ± 0.35 km , 30.438 ± 0.298 , 34.994 ± 0.490 km

Synodic rotation period

7.588 ± 0.003 h , 7.5882 ± 0.0043 h , 7.591 ± 0.001 h , 7.5915 ± 0.0043 , 24.06 h (dated)

via Wikipedia infobox