487 Venetia

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

L. Carnera

Discovery site

Heidelberg Obs.

Discovery date

9 July 1902

Pronunciation

/ v ɪ ˈ n iː ʃ ə /

Named after

Veneto (Italian region)

Alternative designations

1902 JL

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle )

Observation arc

114.63 yr (41,868 days)

Aphelion

2.9063 AU

Perihelion

2.4333 AU

Semi major axis

2.6698 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.36 yr (1,593 days)

Mean anomaly

8.3676 °

Mean motion

0° 13 33.24 / day

Inclination

10.245°

Longitude of ascending node

114.82°

Argument of perihelion

280.52°

Dimensions

59.046 ± 0.458 km , 63.15 ± 1.3 km ( IRAS :22) , 65.562 ± 0.795 km , 66.13 ± 0.84 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Veneto

Followed by

Q154811

Follows

486 Cremona

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

59.046

Orbital period

1593.064586211191

via Wikidata · CC0