Q136889

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

11 February 1931

Pronunciation

/ æ l f ə ˈ t ɜːr n ə /

Named after

Nuceria Alfaterna , (ancient Roman town)

Alternative designations

1931 CA · 1965 AA

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer )

Observation arc

85.79 yr (31,335 days)

Aphelion

3.0286 AU

Perihelion

2.7567 AU

Semi major axis

2.8927 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.92 yr (1,797 days)

Mean anomaly

178.01 °

Mean motion

0° 12 1.08 / day

Inclination

18.491°

Longitude of ascending node

134.73°

Argument of perihelion

53.411°

Dimensions

38.92 ± 13.94 km , 42.01 km (derived) , 42.09 ± 3.0 km , 43.38 ± 14.16 km , 46.11 ± 0.63 km , 46.375 ± 0.836 km , 47.397 ± 0.175 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

47.397

Orbital period

1796.937086251638

via Wikidata · CC0