Q138451

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

30 April 1935

Pronunciation

/ nj uː ˈ m ɪ d i ə /

Named after

Numidia , (ancient Berber kingdom)

Alternative designations

1935 HD · 1928 SN, 1931 JF · 1935 KB, 1936 QN · 1953 YK

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( inner ) , background · Maria

Observation arc

86.45 yr (31,577 days)

Aphelion

2.6814 AU

Perihelion

2.3673 AU

Semi major axis

2.5243 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.01 yr (1,465 days)

Mean anomaly

146.05 °

Mean motion

0° 14 44.52 / day

Inclination

14.823°

Longitude of ascending node

18.130°

Argument of perihelion

264.36°

Dimensions

15.93 ± 0.37 km , 19.24 km (derived) , 19.29 ± 0.9 km , 19.591 ± 0.213 km , 19.899 ± 0.110 km , 20.66 ± 0.82 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

19.591

Orbital period

1465.862665138325

Image

001368-asteroid shape model (1368) Numidia.png

via Wikidata · CC0