184 Dejopeja

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 , 1878

Discovery date

28 February 1878

Pronunciation

/ d iː oʊ ˈ p iː ə /

Named after

Deiopea

Alternative designations

A878 DA; 1903 QB;, 1959 LL

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

123.52 yr (45117 d)

Aphelion

3.4005 AU (508.71 Gm )

Perihelion

2.9741 AU (444.92 Gm)

Semi major axis

3.1873 AU (476.81 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

5.69 yr (2078.4 d )

Mean anomaly

119.18 °

Mean motion

0° 10 23.556 / day

Inclination

1.1437°

Longitude of ascending node

331.61°

Argument of perihelion

209.72°

Earth moid

1.97613 AU (295.625 Gm)

Jupiter moid

1.56558 AU (234.207 Gm)

via Wikipedia infobox