File:000247-asteroid_shape_model_(247)_Eukrate.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
247 Eukrate
Also known as (247) Eukrate, Eukrate
main-belt asteroid
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
- 14 March 1885
- Pronunciation
- / j uː ˈ k r eɪ t iː /
- Named after
- Eucrate
- Alternative designations
- A885 EB, 1901 TB, 1947 TA, 1960 TC
~1 min read
Article
247 Eukrate is a rather large main-belt asteroid. It is dark and probably a primitive carbonaceous body. The asteroid was discovered by Robert Luther on March 14, 1885, in Düsseldorf. It was named after Eucrate, a Nereid in Greek mythology.
In 2001, the asteroid was detected by radar from the Arecibo Observatory at a distance of 1.18 AU. The resulting data yielded an effective diameter of 134 ± 15 km.