861 Aïda

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

M. F. Wolf

Discovery site

Heidelberg Obs.

Discovery date

22 January 1917

Pronunciation

/ ɑː ˈ iː d ə /

Named after

Aida (Italian opera)

Alternative designations

1917 BE · 1939 BL, 1947 OF · 1950 BW 1 , A906 BG · A918 GA

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer )

Observation arc

110.96 yr (40,527 days)

Aphelion

3.4604 AU

Perihelion

2.8158 AU

Semi major axis

3.1381 AU

Orbital period sidereal

5.56 yr (2,030 days)

Mean anomaly

160.30 °

Mean motion

0° 10 38.28 / day

Inclination

8.0502°

Longitude of ascending node

115.03°

Argument of perihelion

193.73°

Dimensions

62.24 ± 17.34 km , 62.52 ± 21.29 km , 66.78 km (derived) , 66.85 ± 3.7 km ( IRAS :39) , 69.61 ± 1.13 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

66.85

Orbital period

2034.254126759747

via Wikidata · CC0