347 Pariana

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

28 November 1892

Pronunciation

classically: / p ær i ˈ eɪ n ə /

Named after

unknown

Alternative designations

1892 Q · A892 WD

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

123.38 yr (45065 d)

Aphelion

3.04828 AU (456.016 Gm )

Perihelion

2.17513 AU (325.395 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.61171 AU (390.706 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

4.22 yr (1541.6 d )

Mean anomaly

8.01559 °

Mean motion

0° 14 0.661 / day

Inclination

11.6792°

Longitude of ascending node

85.5359°

Argument of perihelion

86.2897°

Mean diameter

48.615 ± 0.118 km

Synodic rotation period

4.0529 h (0.16887 d )

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Followed by

348 May

Follows

346 Hermentaria

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

48.615

Orbital period

1542.754062265004

Image

000347-asteroid shape model (347) Pariana.png

via Wikidata · CC0