241 Germania

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

Robert Luther

Discovery date

12 September 1884

Pronunciation

/ dʒ ər ˈ m eɪ n i ə /

Named after

Germany

Alternative designations

A884 RA, 1953 US, 1953 VK 1

Minor planet category

Main belt

Adjectives

Germanian

Observation arc

131.40 yr (47993 d)

Aphelion

3.35991 AU (502.635 Gm )

Perihelion

2.73723 AU (409.484 Gm)

Semi major axis

3.04857 AU (456.060 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

5.32 yr (1944.2 d )

Average orbital speed

17.04 km/s

Mean anomaly

277.959 °

Mean motion

0° 11 6.598 / day

Inclination

5.50482°

Longitude of ascending node

270.362°

Argument of perihelion

80.6364°

via Wikipedia infobox