943 Begonia

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

K. Reinmuth

Discovery site

Heidelberg Obs.

Discovery date

20 October 1920

Pronunciation

/ b ɪ ˈ ɡ oʊ n i ə /

Named after

Begonia , (genus of flowers)

Alternative designations

A920 UA · 1944 DM, 1947 RC · 1977 FU, 1920 HX

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , background

Observation arc

99.21 yr (36,237 d)

Aphelion

3.7814 AU

Perihelion

2.4517 AU

Semi major axis

3.1166 AU

Orbital period sidereal

5.50 yr (2,010 d)

Mean anomaly

310.58 °

Mean motion

0° 10 44.76 / day

Inclination

12.108°

Longitude of ascending node

113.77°

Argument of perihelion

4.1314°

Mean diameter

69.21 ± 3.0 km 69.30 ± 1.23 km 70.572 ± 2.446 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Followed by

944 Hidalgo

Follows

942 Romilda

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

70.572

Orbital period

2006.70055468657

Image

000943-asteroid shape model (943) Begonia.png

via Wikidata · CC0