Q136117

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

L. Volta

Discovery site

Pino Torinese Obs.

Discovery date

13 December 1928

Pronunciation

/ s ə ˈ b ɔː d ə /

Named after

House of Savoy , (former rulers of Italy)

Alternative designations

1928 XC · A906 YF

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , Meliboea

Observation arc

88.47 yr (32,314 days)

Aphelion

3.6333 AU

Perihelion

2.5750 AU

Semi major axis

3.1041 AU

Orbital period sidereal

5.47 yr (1,998 days)

Mean anomaly

58.449 °

Mean motion

0° 10 48.72 / day

Inclination

15.271°

Longitude of ascending node

71.679°

Argument of perihelion

57.292°

Dimensions

67.24 ± 21.50 km , 68.53 km (derived) , 68.82 ± 1.8 km , 70.76 ± 0.90 km , 75.907 ± 0.656 km , 75.91 ± 0.66 km

via Wikipedia infobox