230 Athamantis

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

K. de Ball

Discovery date

3 September 1882

Pronunciation

/ æ θ ə ˈ m æ n t ɪ s /

Named after

Helle

Alternative designations

1949 WG

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

133.58 yr (48791 d)

Aphelion

2.52818 AU (378.210 Gm )

Perihelion

2.23641 AU (334.562 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.38229 AU (356.386 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

3.68 yr (1343.0 d )

Average orbital speed

19.3 km/s

Mean anomaly

116.2 °

Mean motion

0° 16 4.969 / day

Inclination

9.443°

Longitude of ascending node

239.9°

Argument of perihelion

139.1°

Mean diameter

118 ± 2 km , 111.332 ± 1.231 km , 110.17 ± 4.57 km

via Wikipedia infobox