627 Charis

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

A. Kopff

Discovery site

Heidelberg Obs.

Discovery date

4 March 1907

Pronunciation

/ ˈ k eɪ r ɪ s /

Named after

Charis (Greek mythology)

Alternative designations

1907 XS · 1929 RJ 1 , 1929 RN 1 · 1932 CZ, 1947 GK · 1966 DR, A917 DE

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , Charis

Observation arc

110.65 yr (40,415 days)

Aphelion

3.0675 AU

Perihelion

2.7320 AU

Semi major axis

2.8998 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.94 yr (1,804 days)

Mean anomaly

318.92 °

Mean motion

0° 11 58.56 / day

Inclination

6.4732°

Longitude of ascending node

142.48°

Argument of perihelion

176.72°

Dimensions

38.018 ± 0.146 km , 44.745 ± 0.140 km , 48.51 ± 2.6 km , 49.47 ± 0.51 km , 62.68 ± 0.41 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

38.018

Orbital period

1802.905656570524

via Wikidata · CC0