1103 Sequoia

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

W. Baade

Discovery site

Bergedorf Obs.

Discovery date

9 November 1928

Pronunciation

/ s ɪ ˈ k w ɔɪ . ə /

Named after

Sequoia National Park , (national park, California)

Alternative designations

1928 VB

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( inner , Hungaria

Observation arc

88.91 yr (32,473 days)

Aphelion

2.1169 AU

Perihelion

1.7505 AU

Semi major axis

1.9337 AU

Orbital period sidereal

2.69 yr (982 days)

Mean anomaly

66.943 °

Mean motion

0° 21 59.4 / day

Inclination

17.899°

Longitude of ascending node

267.65°

Argument of perihelion

77.910°

Dimensions

5.21 ± 0.42 km , 6.692 ± 0.078 km , 7.623 ± 0.058 km , 7.816 km , 7.82 km (taken)

via Wikipedia infobox