Q138103

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

James Craig Watson

Discovery site

Angell Hall Observatory

Discovery date

16 August 1873

Pronunciation

/ s aɪ ˈ r iː n iː /

Named after

Cyrene (nymph)

Alternative designations

A873 QA · A910 NB · 1936 HO · 1948 QC · 1959 UR

Minor planet category

Main belt

Adjectives

Cyrenean / s aɪ r ɪ ˈ n iː ə n / , Cyrenian / s aɪ ˈ r iː n i ə n /

Observation arc

152.13 yr (55566 d)

Aphelion

7.2245 AU (1,080.77 Gm)

Perihelion

2.6736 AU (399.96 Gm)

Semi major axis

3.0742 AU (459.89 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

5.3902 yr (1968.77 d )

Average orbital speed

17.03 km/s

Mean anomaly

219.02°

Mean motion

0° 10 58.26 / day

Inclination

7.2245°

Longitude of ascending node

318.67°

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

72.175

Mass

310000000000000000

Orbital period

1968.772624943664

via Wikidata · CC0