1122 Neith

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

E. Delporte

Discovery site

Uccle Obs.

Discovery date

17 September 1928

Pronunciation

/ ˈ n iː ɪ θ /

Named after

Neith ( Egyptian mythology )

Alternative designations

1928 SB · 1941 YH, 1953 OA · A924 VA

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) , background

Observation arc

93.01 yr (33,971 days)

Aphelion

3.2763 AU

Perihelion

1.9347 AU

Semi major axis

2.6055 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.21 yr (1,536 days)

Mean anomaly

30.680 °

Mean motion

0° 14 3.48 / day

Inclination

4.7381°

Longitude of ascending node

63.385°

Argument of perihelion

328.96°

Dimensions

11.566 ± 0.261 km , 11.73 km (derived) , 12.01 ± 0.5 km , 13.453 ± 1.632 km , 13.81 ± 0.73 km , 13.84 ± 1.46 km (MSX)

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

11.566

Orbital period

1537.588163625707

via Wikidata · CC0