(934) Thüringia

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

W. Baade

Discovery site

Bergedorf Obs.

Discovery date

15 August 1920

Pronunciation

/ θ ɜː ˈ r ɪ n dʒ i ə /

Named after

Thuringia SS Thuringia (German state and ship)

Alternative designations

A920 PA · 1920 HK, 1952 OP · 1974 HP 3

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) background

Observation arc

98.68 yr (36,042 d)

Aphelion

3.3473 AU

Perihelion

2.1546 AU

Semi major axis

2.7509 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.56 yr (1,667 d)

Mean anomaly

273.96 °

Mean motion

0° 12 57.6 / day

Inclination

14.076°

Longitude of ascending node

325.40°

Argument of perihelion

64.133°

Mean diameter

53.35 ± 5.2 km 53.714 ± 0.361 km 58.00 ± 0.70 km

via Wikipedia infobox