293 Brasilia

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

Auguste Charlois

Discovery date

20 May 1890

Pronunciation

/ b r ə ˈ z ɪ l i ə /

Named after

Brazil

Alternative designations

A890 KA, 1909 HB

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , Brasilia

Observation arc

106.96 yr (39067 d)

Aphelion

3.1657 AU (473.58 Gm )

Perihelion

2.55398 AU (382.070 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.85982 AU (427.823 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

4.84 yr (1766.5 d )

Average orbital speed

17.61 km/s

Mean anomaly

107.972 °

Mean motion

0° 12 13.68 / day

Inclination

15.583°

Longitude of ascending node

61.316°

Argument of perihelion

86.852°

Earth moid

1.62263 AU (242.742 Gm)

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Brazil

Followed by

Q150392

Follows

Q150359

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

57.486

Orbital period

1768.721774249892

via Wikidata · CC0