1208 Troilus

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

31 December 1931

Pronunciation

/ ˈ t r oʊ ɪ l ə s , ˈ t r ɔɪ l ə s /

Named after

Troilus (Greek mythology)

Alternative designations

1931 YA · 1965 WK

Minor planet category

Jupiter trojan , Trojan · background

Adjectives

Troilian

Observation arc

86.40 yr (31,557 d)

Aphelion

5.7305 AU

Perihelion

4.7712 AU

Semi major axis

5.2509 AU

Orbital period sidereal

12.03 yr (4,395 d)

Mean anomaly

189.17 °

Mean motion

0° 4 54.84 / day

Inclination

33.542°

Longitude of ascending node

48.546°

Argument of perihelion

296.06°

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Troilus

Followed by

1209 Pumma

Follows

1207 Ostenia

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

100.477

Orbital period

4399.856831684221

Image

1208 Troilus Hubble.jpg

via Wikidata · CC0