345 Tercidina

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

23 November 1892

Pronunciation

/ t ɜːr s ɪ ˈ d aɪ n ə /

Named after

(unknown)

Alternative designations

1892 O

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

122.88 yr (44882 d)

Aphelion

2.46765 AU (369.155 Gm )

Perihelion

2.18337 AU (326.628 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.32551 AU (347.891 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

3.55 yr (1295.3 d )

Mean anomaly

288.675 °

Mean motion

0° 16 40.526 / day

Inclination

9.74765°

Longitude of ascending node

212.629°

Argument of perihelion

230.279°

Dimensions

126x94x90 km , 94 km (mean) , 98.78 ± 2.63 km

Mass

(2.68 ± 1.18) × 10 kg

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Followed by

346 Hermentaria

Follows

344 Desiderata

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

90.243

Orbital period

1295.162520260963

Image

345Tercidina (Lightcurve Inversion).png

via Wikidata · CC0