2202 Pele

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

A. R. Klemola

Discovery site

Lick Obs.

Discovery date

7 September 1972

Pronunciation

/ ˈ p eɪ l eɪ / , Hawaiian: [ ˈpɛlɛ ]

Named after

Pele ( Hawaiian religion )

Alternative designations

1972 RA

Minor planet category

NEO · Amor

Observation arc

42.59 yr (15,555 days)

Aphelion

3.4646 AU

Perihelion

1.1146 AU

Semi major axis

2.2896 AU

Orbital period sidereal

3.46 yr (1,265 days)

Mean anomaly

336.56 °

Mean motion

0° 17 4.2 / day

Inclination

8.7454°

Longitude of ascending node

169.98°

Argument of perihelion

217.94°

Earth moid

0.1426 AU · 55.6 LD

via Wikipedia infobox