2865 Laurel

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

C. Jackson

Discovery site

Johannesburg Obs.

Discovery date

31 July 1935

Named after

Stan Laurel (film comedian)

Alternative designations

1935 OK · 1939 PA, 1947 NF · 1951 ML, 1972 QH

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) , Maria

Observation arc

81.62 yr (29,810 days)

Aphelion

2.7406 AU

Perihelion

2.3812 AU

Semi major axis

2.5609 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.10 yr (1,497 days)

Mean anomaly

71.330 °

Mean motion

0° 14 25.8 / day

Inclination

14.294°

Longitude of ascending node

321.79°

Argument of perihelion

293.35°

Dimensions

14.73 ± 1.2 km ( IRAS :3) , 14.79 km (derived) , 18.83 ± 0.73 km , 24.99 ± 0.37 km

Synodic rotation period

21.5 ± 0.3 h

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Stan Laurel

Followed by

2866 Hardy

Follows

2864 Soderblom

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

24.991

Orbital period

1496.564181940229

Image

2865 Laurel orbit.png

via Wikidata · CC0