925 Alphonsina

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. Comas Solà

Discovery site

Fabra Obs.

Discovery date

13 January 1920

Pronunciation

/ æ l f ɒ n ˈ s aɪ n ə /

Named after

Alfonso X and Alfonso XIII , (Kings of Castile and Spain)

Alternative designations

1920 GM · A902 ED

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) , Hansa

Observation arc

115.98 yr (42,362 d)

Aphelion

2.9130 AU

Perihelion

2.4881 AU

Semi major axis

2.7006 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.44 yr (1,621 d)

Mean anomaly

24.261 °

Mean motion

0° 13 19.56 / day

Inclination

21.077°

Longitude of ascending node

299.59°

Argument of perihelion

201.60°

Mean diameter

54.34 ± 3.4 km , 57.505 ± 0.443 km , 58.000 ± 4.841 km , 58 ± 16 km , 58.06 km (taken) , 58.062 km , 59.2 km , 62.57 ± 0.64 km , 63.52 ± 11.11 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

57.505

Orbital period

1619.837801286279

Image

925Alphonsina 20031222 (OccultationAndLCInversion).jpg

via Wikidata · CC0