Q136845

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

5 September 1926

Pronunciation

/ ˈ dʒ iː ə /

Named after

Gaea (Gaia) , (Greek mythology)

Alternative designations

1926 RE · 1930 OE, 1931 XG

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) , Aeria

Observation arc

91.06 yr (33,260 days)

Aphelion

2.8555 AU

Perihelion

2.4804 AU

Semi major axis

2.6680 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.36 yr (1,592 days)

Mean anomaly

0.0836 °

Mean motion

0° 13 34.32 / day

Inclination

11.315°

Longitude of ascending node

355.75°

Argument of perihelion

311.34°

Dimensions

11.783 ± 0.296 km , 12.048 ± 0.146 km , 26.52 km (calculated)

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

11.783

Orbital period

1591.786997350899

via Wikidata · CC0