1199 Geldonia

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

14 September 1931

Pronunciation

/ ɡ ɛ l ˈ d oʊ n i ə /

Named after

Jodoigne , (Belgian city)

Alternative designations

1931 RF · 1930 MB, 1946 OH · 1958 WC, A921 TF

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , Eos

Observation arc

95.48 yr (34,873 days)

Aphelion

3.1016 AU

Perihelion

2.9337 AU

Semi major axis

3.0177 AU

Orbital period sidereal

5.24 yr (1,915 days)

Mean anomaly

324.45 °

Mean motion

0° 11 16.8 / day

Inclination

8.7917°

Longitude of ascending node

235.63°

Argument of perihelion

291.33°

Dimensions

30.395 ± 0.243 km , 31.25 ± 3.0 km , 32.858 ± 0.315 km , 35.88 ± 0.50 km , 36.08 ± 0.58 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Followed by

1200 Imperatrix

Follows

1198 Atlantis

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

30.395

Orbital period

1915.144300117862

via Wikidata · CC0