446 Aeternitas

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

M. F. Wolf , A. Schwassmann

Discovery date

27 October 1899

Pronunciation

/ iː ˈ t ɜːr n ɪ t æ s /

Named after

Aeternitas

Alternative designations

1899 ER

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

116.23 yr (42452 d)

Aphelion

3.14078 AU (469.854 Gm )

Perihelion

2.43222 AU (363.855 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.78650 AU (416.854 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

4.65 yr (1699.0 d )

Mean anomaly

83.3875 °

Mean motion

0° 12 42.811 / day

Inclination

10.6270°

Longitude of ascending node

42.0823°

Argument of perihelion

279.496°

Dimensions

45.40 ± 3.2 km

Synodic rotation period

15.7413 h (0.65589 d )

via Wikipedia infobox