271 Penthesilea

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

Viktor Knorre

Discovery date

13 October 1887

Pronunciation

/ ˌ p ɛ n θ ɪ s ɪ ˈ l iː ə /

Named after

Πενθεσίλεια

Alternative designations

A887 TB, 1916 GG, 1916 HA

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

112.35 yr (41037 d)

Aphelion

3.3147 AU (495.87 Gm )

Perihelion

2.69235 AU (402.770 Gm)

Semi major axis

3.0035 AU (449.32 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

5.21 yr (1901.3 d )

Mean anomaly

243.905 °

Mean motion

0° 11 21.624 / day

Inclination

3.5395°

Longitude of ascending node

335.367°

Argument of perihelion

58.345°

Dimensions

57.93 ± 3.3 km

Synodic rotation period

18.787 h (0.7828 d )

via Wikipedia infobox