Q114734

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. H. Metcalf

Discovery site

Taunton Obs.

Discovery date

6 April 1908

Pronunciation

/ k w ɪ n ˈ t ɪ l ə /

Named after

Quintilla , (Italian first name)

Alternative designations

A908 GC · 1933 UF, 1908 CZ

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) background

Observation arc

104.66 yr (38,226 d)

Aphelion

3.6182 AU

Perihelion

2.7446 AU

Semi major axis

3.1814 AU

Orbital period sidereal

5.67 yr (2,073 d)

Mean anomaly

294.13 °

Mean motion

0° 10 25.32 / day

Inclination

3.2423°

Longitude of ascending node

176.67°

Argument of perihelion

43.965°

Mean diameter

31.32 ± 1.20 km 36.04 ± 2.1 km 41.210 ± 0.655 km

via Wikipedia infobox