206 Hersilia

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

C. H. F. Peters

Discovery date

13 October 1879

Pronunciation

/ h ər ˈ s ɪ l i ə /

Named after

Hersilia

Alternative designations

A879 TC, 1961 WG, 1974 PM

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

136.34 yr (49798 d)

Aphelion

2.84299 AU (425.305 Gm )

Perihelion

2.63811 AU (394.656 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.74055 AU (409.980 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

4.54 yr (1657.1 d )

Average orbital speed

17.99 km/s

Mean anomaly

348.975 °

Mean motion

0° 13 2.078 / day

Inclination

3.77868°

Longitude of ascending node

145.169°

Argument of perihelion

299.705°

Dimensions

113 km

via Wikipedia infobox