410 Chloris

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

7 January 1896

Pronunciation

/ ˈ k l ɔːr ɪ s /

Named after

Chloris

Alternative designations

1896 CH

Minor planet category

Main belt ( Chloris )

Adjectives

Chloridian

Observation arc

105.91 yr (38683 d)

Aphelion

3.38204 AU (505.946 Gm )

Perihelion

2.0659 AU (309.05 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.72395 AU (407.497 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

4.50 yr (1642.1 d )

Mean anomaly

125.79 °

Mean motion

0° 13 9.228 / day

Inclination

10.963°

Longitude of ascending node

96.940°

Argument of perihelion

172.945°

Dimensions

123.57 ± 5.4 km , 115.55 ± 8.22 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Chloris

Followed by

411 Xanthe

Follows

409 Aspasia

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

118.929

Mass

1970000000000000000

Orbital period

1643.865929210983

via Wikidata · CC0