Q137377

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

8 August 1932

Pronunciation

/ s ɪ ˈ s ɪ l i ə /

Named after

Sicily (Italian island)

Alternative designations

1932 PG · 1935 BG

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , background

Observation arc

85.22 yr (31,128 days)

Aphelion

3.3218 AU

Perihelion

3.0484 AU

Semi major axis

3.1851 AU

Orbital period sidereal

5.68 yr (2,076 days)

Mean anomaly

304.82 °

Mean motion

0° 10 24.24 / day

Inclination

7.7022°

Longitude of ascending node

299.61°

Argument of perihelion

77.861°

Dimensions

36.83 ± 13.91 km , 41.94 ± 12.35 km , 44.39 km (derived) , 44.47 ± 2.4 km , 44.86 ± 0.75 km , 45.669 ± 0.174 km , 52.529 ± 0.192 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

45.669

Orbital period

2078.831870627343

via Wikidata · CC0