1105 Fragaria

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 January 1929

Pronunciation

/ f r ə ˈ ɡ ɛər i ə /

Named after

Fragaria , ( flowering plant )

Alternative designations

1929 AB · 1947 KB, 1977 EU · A916 MA, A917 UH

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , Eos

Observation arc

89.13 yr (32,553 days)

Aphelion

3.3288 AU

Perihelion

2.6915 AU

Semi major axis

3.0101 AU

Orbital period sidereal

5.22 yr (1,908 days)

Mean anomaly

110.60 °

Mean motion

0° 11 19.32 / day

Inclination

10.968°

Longitude of ascending node

116.90°

Argument of perihelion

225.01°

Mean diameter

27.92 ± 3.41 km , 31.518 ± 0.346 km , 36.95 km (derived) , 37.03 ± 3.8 km , 38.206 ± 0.703 km , 38.41 ± 0.46 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Fragaria

Followed by

Q117086

Follows

Q135963

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

38.206

Orbital period

1908.64585462352

Image

1105orbit.png

via Wikidata · CC0