152 Atala

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

P. P. Henry

Discovery date

2 November 1875

Pronunciation

/ ə ˈ t ɑː l ə / , French: [ atala ]

Named after

Atala

Alternative designations

A875 VB

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

130.69 yr (47735 d)

Aphelion

3.3855 AU (506.46 Gm )

Perihelion

2.8984 AU (433.59 Gm)

Semi major axis

3.1420 AU (470.04 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

5.57 yr (2034.2 d )

Mean anomaly

52.593 °

Mean motion

0° 10 37.092 / day

Inclination

12.114°

Longitude of ascending node

39.945°

Argument of perihelion

59.807°

Earth moid

1.93567 AU (289.572 Gm)

Jupiter moid

1.85235 AU (277.108 Gm)

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

58.964

Orbital period

2028.637879034455

Image

152Atala (Lightcurve Inversion).png

via Wikidata · CC0