Q503915

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

M. F. Wolf

Discovery site

Heidelberg Obs.

Discovery date

9 January 1901

Pronunciation

/ m ɪ ˈ ɡ aɪər ə / (Megaira), / m ɪ ˈ dʒ ɪər ə / (Megaera)

Named after

Megaera , (Greek mythology)

Alternative designations

A901 AB · 1929 AH, A912 JB · A912 JC, A916 FD · 1901 FV

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) background

Observation arc

119.07 yr (43,489 d)

Aphelion

3.3764 AU

Perihelion

2.2248 AU

Semi major axis

2.8006 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.69 yr (1,712 d)

Mean anomaly

253.43 °

Mean motion

0° 12 37.08 / day

Inclination

10.170°

Longitude of ascending node

102.37°

Argument of perihelion

258.19°

Mean diameter

74.04 ± 5.9 km 77.056 ± 0.450 km 79.28 ± 1.16 km

via Wikipedia infobox