1172 Äneas

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

17 October 1930

Pronunciation

/ ɪ ˈ n iː ə s /

Named after

Aeneas (Αἰνείας Aineias ) , (Greek mythology)

Alternative designations

1930 UA

Minor planet category

Jupiter trojan , Trojan · background

Adjectives

Äneian

Observation arc

87.27 yr (31,874 d)

Aphelion

5.7602 AU

Perihelion

4.6762 AU

Semi major axis

5.2182 AU

Orbital period sidereal

11.92 yr (4,354 d)

Mean anomaly

238.45 °

Mean motion

0° 4 57.72 / day

Inclination

16.664°

Longitude of ascending node

247.33°

Argument of perihelion

50.803°

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Aeneas

Followed by

1173 Anchises

Follows

1171 Rusthawelia

Parent body

Sun

Diameter

118.02

Orbital period

4379.806003842572

Image

1172 Aneas 28.07.2014.gif

via Wikidata · CC0