304 Olga

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

Johann Palisa

Discovery date

14 February 1891

Pronunciation

/ ˈ ɒ l ɡ ə / , German: [ ˈɔlɡaː ]

Alternative designations

A891 CB; 1952 SJ

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

124.78 yr (45577 d)

Aphelion

2.93719 AU (439.397 Gm )

Perihelion

1.86853 AU (279.528 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.40286 AU (359.463 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

3.72 yr (1360.5 d )

Mean anomaly

63.6148 °

Mean motion

0° 15 52.607 / day

Inclination

15.8530°

Longitude of ascending node

159.080°

Argument of perihelion

172.423°

Dimensions

67.86 ± 2.1 km , 70.30 ± 2.32 km

Mass

(1.15 ± 1.12) × 10 kg

Synodic rotation period

18.36 h (0.765 d )

via Wikipedia infobox