Q137268

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

C. Jackson

Discovery site

Johannesburg Obs.

Discovery date

25 May 1932

Pronunciation

/ ˈ d aɪ r ə / DY -rə or / ˈ d ɛər ə / DAIR -ə

Named after

Deira , near the town of Ossett , England , (alt. Celtic Kingdom of Deira )

Alternative designations

1932 KE · 1930 YR, 1984 YQ 6 · A908 TD, A921 GC · A924 BH

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( inner ) background

Observation arc

109.13 yr (39,861 days)

Aphelion

2.5731 AU

Perihelion

2.1129 AU

Semi major axis

2.3430 AU

Orbital period sidereal

3.59 yr (1,310 days)

Mean anomaly

335.23 °

Mean motion

0° 16 29.28 / day

Inclination

8.6950°

Longitude of ascending node

277.12°

Argument of perihelion

261.45°

Mean diameter

28.816 ± 0.546 km , 30.432 ± 9.136 km , 30.95 ± 1.9 km , 31.799 ± 0.487 km , 32.28 ± 0.35 km , 33.15 ± 7.01 km , 35.19 ± 0.19 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

31.799

Orbital period

1310.560862411616

Image

001244-asteroid shape model (1244) Deira.png

via Wikidata · CC0