Q137644

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

E. Delporte

Discovery site

Uccle Obs.

Discovery date

15 September 1933

Pronunciation

/ ˈ f r aɪ n iː /

Named after

Φρύνη Phrȳnē , (ancient Greek courtesan)

Alternative designations

1933 RA · 1931 DX, 1932 KJ · 1953 JS, A907 TA · A922 NA

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , Eos

Observation arc

109.08 yr (39,843 days)

Aphelion

3.2977 AU

Perihelion

2.7292 AU

Semi major axis

3.0134 AU

Orbital period sidereal

5.23 yr (1,911 days)

Mean anomaly

29.198 °

Mean motion

0° 11 18.24 / day

Inclination

9.1061°

Longitude of ascending node

215.38°

Argument of perihelion

118.83°

Dimensions

24.954 ± 0.275 km , 26.52 km (derived) , 26.78 ± 2.2 km , 27.418 ± 0.149 km , 31.13 ± 0.52 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

27.418

Orbital period

1907.458300246794

Image

1291Phryne (Lightcurve Inversion).png

via Wikidata · CC0