3548 Eurybates

Also known as (3548) Eurybates, Eurybates

asteroid

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. J. van Houten , I. van Houten-G. , Tom Gehrels
Discovery site: Palomar Obs.
Discovery date: 19 September 1973
Pronunciation: / j ʊ ˈ r ɪ b ə t iː z /
Named after: Eurybates , ( Greek mythology )

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Article

3548 Eurybates (/jʊˈrɪbətiːz/ yə-RIB-ə-teez) is a carbonaceous Jupiter trojan from the Greek camp and the parent body of the Eurybates family, approximately 68 kilometers (42 miles) in diameter. It is a target to be visited by the Lucy mission in August 2027. Discovered during the second Palomar–Leiden Trojan survey in 1973, it was later named after Eurybates from Greek mythology. This C-type asteroid is among the 60 largest known Jupiter trojans and has a rotation period of 8.7 hours. Eurybates has a one kilometer-sized satellite, named Queta, that was discovered in images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in September 2018.

Discovery