Q906851

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

C. Torres , S. Barros

Discovery site

Cerro El Roble Stn.

Discovery date

1 December 1975

Named after

Pedro de Valdivia , (Spanish conquistador )

Alternative designations

1975 XG · 1935 CM, 1952 DJ 2 · 1953 QS, 1969 EB 1 · 1969 FC, 1973 FX 1 · 1979 UA 1 , 1990 FO 3

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle )

Observation arc

81.74 yr (29,856 days)

Aphelion

3.0836 AU

Perihelion

2.1352 AU

Semi major axis

2.6094 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.22 yr (1,540 days)

Mean anomaly

142.32 °

Mean motion

0° 14 1.68 / day

Inclination

10.287°

Longitude of ascending node

151.13°

Argument of perihelion

91.480°

Mean diameter

9.13 ± 0.43 km , 10.73 ± 0.64 km , 11.679 ± 0.172 km , 17.52 km (calculated)

Synodic rotation period

4.096 ± 0.0005 h , 4.096 ± 0.001 h , 4.098 ± 0.001 h , 8.191 ± 0.0001 h

via Wikipedia infobox