1112 Polonia

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

P. Shajn

Discovery site

Simeiz Obs.

Discovery date

15 August 1928

Pronunciation

/ p oʊ ˈ l oʊ n i ə /

Named after

Poland , (European country)

Alternative designations

1928 PE · 1933 PA, A908 XA

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , Eos

Observation arc

89.20 yr (32,582 d)

Aphelion

3.3423 AU

Perihelion

2.6963 AU

Semi major axis

3.0193 AU

Orbital period sidereal

5.25 yr (1,916 d)

Mean anomaly

326.70 °

Mean motion

0° 11 16.44 / day

Inclination

8.9911°

Longitude of ascending node

302.86°

Argument of perihelion

87.361°

Mean diameter

35.76 ± 1.6 km , 37.55 ± 0.60 km , 39.661 ± 0.334 km , 47.058 ± 0.368 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Poland

Followed by

1113 Katja

Follows

1111 Reinmuthia

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

39.661

Orbital period

1913.902668344399

via Wikidata · CC0