Q137795

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

A. Schwassmann

Discovery site

Bergedorf Obs.

Discovery date

16 March 1928

Named after

Robert Luther , (German astronomer)

Alternative designations

1928 FP · 1926 XD, 1928 HH · 1972 VP 1 , A917 KC

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , Luthera

Observation arc

89.60 yr (32,726 days)

Aphelion

3.5680 AU

Perihelion

2.8910 AU

Semi major axis

3.2295 AU

Orbital period sidereal

5.80 yr (2,120 days)

Mean anomaly

198.00 °

Mean motion

0° 10 11.28 / day

Inclination

19.491°

Longitude of ascending node

72.049°

Argument of perihelion

100.43°

Dimensions

81.685 ± 0.494 km , 85.08 km (derived) , 87.15 ± 1.13 km , 90.65 ± 25.04 km , 91.35 ± 24.52 km , 92.118 ± 2.084 km , 112.74 ± 1.41 km

Synodic rotation period

5.878 ± 0.003 h , 7.92 ± 0.05 h

via Wikipedia infobox