511 Davida

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

R. S. Dugan

Discovery date

May 30, 1903

Designation

(511) Davida

Pronunciation

/ d ə ˈ v iː d ə / , Latin Dāvīda

Named after

David Peck Todd

Alternative names

1903 LU

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , Meliboea

Adjectives

Davidian / d ə ˈ v ɪ d i ə n /

Aphelion

3.759 AU

Perihelion

2.569 AU

Semi major axis

3.163 AU

Orbital period sidereal

5.626 yr (2055 d)

Mean anomaly

113°

Inclination

15.94°

Longitude of ascending node

107.6°

Argument of perihelion

337.2°

Dimensions

(357 ± 2) × (294 ± 2) × (231 ± 50) km

Mean diameter

298 ± 4 km

via Wikipedia infobox