1031 Arctica

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. Belyavskyj

Discovery site

Simeiz Obs.

Discovery date

6 June 1924

Pronunciation

/ ˈ ɑːr t ɪ k ə /

Named after

Arctic Ocean

Alternative designations

1924 RR · A910 VB, A913 JA

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer )

Observation arc

92.59 yr (33,820 days)

Aphelion

3.2208 AU

Perihelion

2.8767 AU

Semi major axis

3.0487 AU

Orbital period sidereal

5.32 yr (1,944 days)

Mean anomaly

242.71 °

Mean motion

0° 11 6.72 / day

Inclination

17.634°

Longitude of ascending node

218.92°

Argument of perihelion

307.14°

Dimensions

73.83 ± 20.13 km , 74.78 ± 19.68 km , 75.400 ± 0.497 km , 75.47 ± 1.5 km ( IRAS :21) , 75.784 ± 1.399 km , 77.28 ± 1.05 km , 87.61 ± 0.64 km

via Wikipedia infobox