394 Arduina

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

Alphonse Borrelly

Discovery date

19 November 1894

Pronunciation

/ ɑːr d u ˈ iː n ə /

Named after

Arduinna

Alternative designations

1894 BH

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

121.37 yr (44329 d)

Aphelion

3.39206 AU (507.445 Gm )

Perihelion

2.14064 AU (320.235 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.76635 AU (413.840 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

4.60 yr (1680.6 d )

Mean anomaly

231.227 °

Mean motion

0° 12 51.163 / day

Inclination

6.21491°

Longitude of ascending node

66.9435°

Argument of perihelion

270.829°

Dimensions

31.32 ± 1.8 km

Synodic rotation period

16.53 h (0.689 d )

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Arduinna

Followed by

395 Delia

Follows

393 Lampetia

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

29.97

Orbital period

1675.971057845182

Image

000394-asteroid shape model (394) Arduina.png

via Wikidata · CC0