713 Luscinia

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

(713) Luscinia

Orbit class

Outer belt

Semi-major axis

3.402 AU

Eccentricity

0.154

Inclination

10.340 °

Absolute magnitude

9.080 H

via Minor Planet Center

Key facts

Discovered by

J. Helffrich

Discovery site

Heidelberg Obs.

Discovery date

18 April 1911

Pronunciation

/ l uː ˈ s ɪ n i ə /

Alternative designations

1911 LS

Observation arc

105.00 yr (38350 d)

Aphelion

3.9473 AU (590.51 Gm )

Perihelion

2.8350 AU (424.11 Gm)

Semi major axis

3.3912 AU (507.32 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

6.24 yr (2281.0 d )

Mean anomaly

133.98 °

Mean motion

0° 9 28.188 / day

Inclination

10.359°

Longitude of ascending node

217.687°

Argument of perihelion

137.252°

Mean radius

52.76 ± 1.55 km

Synodic rotation period

9.9143 h (0.41310 d )

Geometric albedo

0.0410 ± 0.003

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Followed by

714 Ulula

Follows

712 Boliviana

Parent body

Sun

Diameter

97.968

Orbital period

2292.715071066843

via Wikidata · CC0