389 Industria

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

A. Charlois

Discovery site

Nice Obs.

Discovery date

8 March 1894

Pronunciation

/ ɪ n ˈ d ʌ s t r i ə /

Named after

Latin for diligence

Alternative designations

A894 EE · 1938 XG, 1946 OJ · A910 EA, 1894 BB

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) background

Observation arc

125.90 yr (45,985 d)

Aphelion

2.7829 AU

Perihelion

2.4337 AU

Semi major axis

2.6083 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.21 yr (1,539 d)

Mean anomaly

316.57 °

Mean motion

0° 14 2.4 / day

Inclination

8.1219°

Longitude of ascending node

282.28°

Argument of perihelion

264.91°

Mean diameter

74.378 ± 1.883 km 79.23 ± 2.4 km 79.32 ± 0.95 km

via Wikipedia infobox