844 Leontina

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

J. Rheden

Discovery site

Vienna Obs.

Discovery date

1 October 1916

Pronunciation

/ l iː ɒ n ˈ t aɪ n ə /

Named after

Lienz , (discoverer's home town)

Alternative designations

1916 AP · 1935 BN, 1953 FL 1 · A902 EC

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer )

Observation arc

114.11 yr (41680 d)

Aphelion

3.4273 AU (512.72 Gm )

Perihelion

2.9894 AU (447.21 Gm)

Semi major axis

3.2084 AU (479.97 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

5.75 yr (2099.0 d )

Mean anomaly

213.70 °

Mean motion

0° 10 17.436 / day

Inclination

8.7853°

Longitude of ascending node

348.76°

Argument of perihelion

351.03°

Dimensions

39.90 ± 0.79 km , 49.558 ± 0.785 km , 28.85 ± 1.47 km , 35.73 km (calculated)

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

small Solar System body

Named after

Lienz

Followed by

845 Naëma

Follows

843 Nicolaia

Parent body

Sun

Diameter

42.154

Orbital period

2093.182516710622

via Wikidata · CC0