1388 Aphrodite

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

24 September 1935

Pronunciation

/ æ f r oʊ ˈ d aɪ t iː /

Named after

Aphrodite , (Greek goddess)

Alternative designations

1935 SS · A914 TC

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ), Eos

Adjectives

Aphrodisian / æ f r oʊ ˈ d ɪ z i ə n /

Observation arc

83.08 yr (30,344 d)

Aphelion

3.2896 AU

Perihelion

2.7485 AU

Semi major axis

3.0190 AU

Orbital period sidereal

5.25 yr (1,916 d)

Mean anomaly

35.092 °

Mean motion

0° 11 16.44 / day

Inclination

11.192°

Longitude of ascending node

54.359°

Argument of perihelion

257.03°

via Wikipedia infobox