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
Wikidata facts
- Diameter
- 4.101
- Orbital period
- 1566.177081849018
Show 13 more facts
- time of discovery or invention
- 2000-03-27
- provisional designation
- 2000 FW2
Article · Italiano
50768 Ianwessen è un asteroide della fascia principale. Scoperto nel 2000, presenta un'orbita caratterizzata da un semiasse maggiore pari a 2,6398484 au e da un'eccentricità di 0,0737800, inclinata di 12,64399° rispetto all'eclittica. L'asteroide era stato inizialmente battezzato 50768 Ianwesson per poi essere corretto nella denominazione attuale. L'asteroide è dedicato a Ian Remington Wessen, studente che per sei settimane ha cooperato con il team dell'Europa Jupiter System Mission.
Abstract from DBpedia / Wikipedia · CC BY-SA