205 Martha

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

Johann Palisa

Discovery date

13 October 1879

Pronunciation

/ ˈ m ɑːr θ ə /

Named after

Martha of Bethany

Alternative designations

A879 TB

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

136.51 yr (49860 d)

Aphelion

2.8758 AU (430.21 Gm )

Perihelion

2.6783 AU (400.67 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.7771 AU (415.45 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

4.63 yr (1690.3 d )

Average orbital speed

17.87 km/s

Mean anomaly

198.37 °

Mean motion

0° 12 46.692 / day

Inclination

10.696°

Longitude of ascending node

211.792°

Argument of perihelion

177.281°

Dimensions

80.58 ± 1.4 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Martha

Followed by

206 Hersilia

Follows

204 Kallisto

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

76.983

Orbital period

1690.298278556165

via Wikidata · CC0