296 Phaëtusa

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

19 August 1890

Pronunciation

/ f eɪ . ə ˈ tj uː s ə /

Named after

Phaethusa

Alternative designations

A890 QB, 1917 XB, 1930 YH

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

85.28 yr (31149 d)

Aphelion

2.58669 AU (386.963 Gm )

Perihelion

1.87025 AU (279.785 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.22847 AU (333.374 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

3.33 yr (1215.1 d )

Average orbital speed

19.95 km/s

Mean anomaly

272.510 °

Mean motion

0° 17 46.586 / day

Inclination

1.74738°

Longitude of ascending node

121.585°

Argument of perihelion

252.628°

Dimensions

7 - 15 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

8.196

Orbital period

1215.081823221668

Image

000296-asteroid shape model (296) Phaëtusa.png

via Wikidata · CC0