957 Camelia

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

7 September 1921

Pronunciation

/ k ə ˈ m iː l i ə /

Named after

Camellia , (genus of flowers)

Alternative designations

A921 RF · 1932 AG, 1958 BM · 1921 JX

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , background · slow

Observation arc

97.94 yr (35,773 d)

Aphelion

3.1595 AU

Perihelion

2.6884 AU

Semi major axis

2.9240 AU

Orbital period sidereal

5.00 yr (1,826 d)

Mean anomaly

199.16 °

Mean motion

0° 11 49.56 / day

Inclination

14.761°

Longitude of ascending node

232.78°

Argument of perihelion

224.57°

Mean diameter

64.36 ± 1.01 km 73.73 ± 1.5 km 91.548 ± 0.450 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Followed by

958 Asplinda

Follows

Q158265

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

91.548

Orbital period

1822.732409731884

via Wikidata · CC0