153 Hilda

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

J. Palisa

Discovery site

Austrian Naval Obs.

Discovery date

2 November 1875

Pronunciation

/ ˈ h ɪ l d ə /

Alternative designations

A875 VC; 1935 GD

Minor planet category

Main belt ( Hilda )

Adjectives

Hildian / ˈ h ɪ l d i ə n /

Observation arc

121.05 yr (44215 d)

Aphelion

4.5341 AU (678.29 Gm )

Perihelion

3.4225 AU (512.00 Gm)

Semi major axis

3.9783 AU (595.15 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

7.935 yr (2,898.3 d) 7.94 yr (2898.3 d )

Mean anomaly

51.690 °

Mean motion

0° 7 27.156 / day

Inclination

7.8249°

Longitude of ascending node

228.16°

Argument of perihelion

38.617°

Jupiter moid

0.569657 AU (85.2195 Gm)

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

170.63

Mass

5.2

Orbital period

2888.075922726859

Image

Hilda-LB1-mag14.jpg

via Wikidata · CC0