1237 Geneviève

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

G. Reiss

Discovery site

Algiers Obs.

Discovery date

2 December 1931

Named after

Geneviève Reiss, (daughter of discoverer)

Alternative designations

1931 XB · 1929 GA, 1984 MM · A908 HA

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) background

Observation arc

109.09 yr (39,846 days)

Aphelion

2.8142 AU

Perihelion

2.4107 AU

Semi major axis

2.6125 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.22 yr (1,542 days)

Mean anomaly

169.28 °

Mean motion

0° 14 0.24 / day

Inclination

9.7349°

Longitude of ascending node

57.868°

Argument of perihelion

305.88°

Dimensions

30.85 ± 6.64 km , 37.26 ± 11.83 km , 39.74 km (derived) , 39.81 ± 1.1 km ( IRAS :20) , 40.67 ± 0.61 km , 42.987 ± 4.138 km

Synodic rotation period

16.37 ± 0.10 h , 24.82 ± 0.07 h

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

39.81

Orbital period

1541.483844113886

Image

001237-asteroid shape model (1237) Geneviève.png

via Wikidata · CC0