532 Herculina

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

Max Wolf

Discovery date

20 April 1904

Pronunciation

/ h ɜːr k j ʊ ˈ l aɪ n ə /

Alternative designations

1904 NY

Minor planet category

Main belt

Adjectives

Herculinian / h ɜːr k j ʊ ˈ l ɪ n i ə n /

Observation arc

111.97 yr (40897 d)

Aphelion

3.26056 AU (487.773 Gm )

Perihelion

2.28601 AU (341.982 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.7732838 AU (414.87735 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

4.62 yr (1686.9 d ), (1684.34607 d)

Mean anomaly

131.03906 °

Mean motion

0° 12 48.272 / day

Inclination

16.31351°

Longitude of ascending node

107.55583°

Argument of perihelion

76.09745°

Mean diameter

167.791 ± 0.890 km , 222.19 km , 217.49 ± 5.10 km , 191 ± 4 km

Mass

(2.29 ± 0.20) × 10 kg , (1.15 ± 0.28) × 10 kg , (1.0051 ± 0.1108/0.1567) × 10 kg

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Heracles

Followed by

533 Sara

Follows

531 Zerlina

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

167.791

Mass

22.9

Orbital period

1683.937723324537

Image

532Herculina (Lightcurve Inversion).png

via Wikidata · CC0