Q132876

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

31 January 1924

Pronunciation

/ ə ˈ z eɪ l i ə / ə- ZAY -lee-ə

Named after

Azalea (flower)

Alternative designations

1924 QD · 1925 NA, 1929 WX

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( inner ) , Flora

Observation arc

93.24 yr (34,057 days)

Aphelion

2.6277 AU

Perihelion

1.8321 AU

Semi major axis

2.2299 AU

Orbital period sidereal

3.33 yr (1,216 days)

Mean anomaly

226.32 °

Mean motion

0° 17 45.6 / day

Inclination

5.4267°

Longitude of ascending node

104.17°

Argument of perihelion

212.39°

Dimensions

10.66 ± 1.99 km , 11.76 ± 0.54 km , 11.869 ± 0.136 km , 12.40 km (calculated) , 12.984 ± 0.069 km , 13.07 ± 0.64 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

11.869

Orbital period

1216.117514013577

Image

1056Azalea (Lightcurve Inversion).png

via Wikidata · CC0