403 Cyane

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

18 May 1895

Pronunciation

/ ˈ s aɪ ə n iː /

Named after

Cyane

Alternative designations

1895 BX

Minor planet category

Main belt

Adjectives

Cyanean / s aɪ ˈ eɪ n iː ə n / , / s aɪ ə ˈ n iː ə n /

Observation arc

120.89 yr (44155 d)

Aphelion

3.08158 AU (460.998 Gm )

Perihelion

2.53799 AU (379.678 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.80979 AU (420.339 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

4.71 yr (1720.3 d )

Mean anomaly

350.231 °

Mean motion

0° 12 33.35 / day

Inclination

9.14883°

Longitude of ascending node

244.411°

Argument of perihelion

255.602°

Dimensions

49.49 ± 1.1 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

53.574

Orbital period

1721.908085271816

Image

403Cyane (Lightcurve Inversion).png

via Wikidata · CC0