3317 Paris

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. Shoemaker , E. Shoemaker

Discovery site

Palomar Obs.

Discovery date

26 May 1984

Pronunciation

/ ˈ p ɛər ɪ s /

Named after

Paris (Greek mythology)

Alternative designations

1984 KF · 1963 QD, 1982 BN 3 · 1982 DC

Minor planet category

Jupiter trojan , Trojan · background

Adjectives

Paridian

Observation arc

54.43 yr (19,879 d)

Aphelion

5.8845 AU

Perihelion

4.5601 AU

Semi major axis

5.2223 AU

Orbital period sidereal

11.93 yr (4,359 d)

Mean anomaly

245.60 °

Mean motion

0° 4 57.36 / day

Inclination

27.866°

Longitude of ascending node

135.90°

Time of perihelion

2022-Jan-09

via Wikipedia infobox