Q138660

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

Y. Väisälä

Discovery site

Turku Obs.

Discovery date

16 February 1936

Pronunciation

/ k ə ˈ r iː l i ə /

Named after

Karelia , (European region)

Alternative designations

1936 DA · 1949 MR

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) background

Observation arc

83.97 yr (30,670 d)

Aphelion

2.9677 AU

Perihelion

2.1278 AU

Semi major axis

2.5478 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.07 yr (1,485 d)

Mean anomaly

228.13 °

Mean motion

0° 14 32.64 / day

Inclination

7.5962°

Longitude of ascending node

103.33°

Argument of perihelion

85.875°

Mean diameter

11.079 ± 0.111 km

via Wikipedia infobox