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
Wikidata facts
- Diameter
- 2.451
- Orbital period
- 687.5110562366502
- Image
- Animation of 1999 UJ7 relative to Sun and Mars 1600-2500.gif
Show 15 more facts
- time of discovery or invention
- 1999-10-30
Article · Français
(121514) 1999 UJ7 est un petit astéroïde troyen de Mars, en orbite près du point L4 du couple Soleil-Mars (60 degrés en avant de Mars sur son orbite). En septembre 2018, (121514) 1999 UJ7 est le seul astéroïde connu en orbite autour du point L4 de Mars, alors qu'au moins huit autres astéroïdes sont situés au point L5. (121514) 1999 UJ7 a par ailleurs un spectre différent des autres troyens de Mars, ce qui est étonnant car tous les troyens de Mars semblent être sur des orbites très stables.
Abstract from DBpedia / Wikipedia · CC BY-SA