2223 Sarpedon

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

Purple Mountain Obs.

Discovery site

Purple Mountain Obs.

Discovery date

4 October 1977

Pronunciation

/ s ɑːr ˈ p iː d ən /

Named after

Sarpedon (Greek mythology)

Alternative designations

1977 TL 3

Minor planet category

Jupiter trojan , Trojan · background

Adjectives

Sarpedontian

Observation arc

40.63 yr (14,840 d)

Aphelion

5.3172 AU

Perihelion

5.1541 AU

Semi major axis

5.2357 AU

Orbital period sidereal

11.98 yr (4,376 d)

Mean anomaly

266.05 °

Mean motion

0° 4 56.28 / day

Inclination

15.960°

Longitude of ascending node

220.88°

Argument of perihelion

52.434°

via Wikipedia infobox