Q157836

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

K. Reinmuth

Discovery site

Heidelberg Obs.

Discovery date

1 March 1919

Pronunciation

German: [ ˈanəliːzə ]

Named after

Anneliese, friend of astronomer Julius Dick

Alternative designations

A919 EC · 1946 SJ, 1975 AH · A924 BD, 1919 FB · 1924 BD

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , background

Observation arc

100.93 yr (36,864 d)

Aphelion

3.3765 AU

Perihelion

2.4747 AU

Semi major axis

2.9256 AU

Orbital period sidereal

5.00 yr (1,828 d)

Mean anomaly

340.99 °

Mean motion

0° 11 49.2 / day

Inclination

9.2090°

Longitude of ascending node

49.936°

Argument of perihelion

208.47°

Mean diameter

47.07 ± 4.5 km 48.590 ± 0.216 km 48.85 ± 0.57 km

via Wikipedia infobox