113 Amalthea

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

R. Luther

Discovery site

Bilk Obs.

Discovery date

12 March 1871

Pronunciation

/ æ m əl ˈ θ iː ə /

Named after

Amalthea

Alternative designations

A871 EA; 1931 TN 3 ;, 1951 CY

Minor planet category

main-belt · Flora

Observation arc

144.90 yr (52926 d)

Aphelion

2.5819 AU (386.25 Gm )

Perihelion

2.17010 AU (324.642 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.37598 AU (355.442 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

3.66 yr (1337.7 d )

Mean anomaly

226.48 °

Mean motion

0° 16 8.832 / day

Inclination

5.0422°

Longitude of ascending node

123.486°

Argument of perihelion

79.118°

Mean diameter

46.14 ± 1.4 km

via Wikipedia infobox