1198 Atlantis

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

7 September 1931

Pronunciation

/ æ t ˈ l æ n t ɪ s /

Named after

Island of Atlantis , ( Greek mythology )

Alternative designations

1931 RA · 1958 RQ, 1975 TQ 4 · 1975 VX 6

Minor planet category

Mars-crosser

Symbol

(astrological)

Observation arc

85.48 yr (31,220 days)

Aphelion

3.0065 AU

Perihelion

1.4941 AU

Semi major axis

2.2503 AU

Orbital period sidereal

3.38 yr (1,233 days)

Mean anomaly

168.18 °

Mean motion

0° 17 31.2 / day

Inclination

2.7234°

Longitude of ascending node

259.58°

Argument of perihelion

84.528°

via Wikipedia infobox