1444 Pannonia

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

G. Kulin

Discovery site

Konkoly Obs.

Discovery date

6 January 1938

Pronunciation

/ p ə ˈ n oʊ n i ə /

Named after

Pannonia (ancient province)

Alternative designations

1938 AE

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer )

Observation arc

78.23 yr (28,575 days)

Aphelion

3.5915 AU

Perihelion

2.7128 AU

Semi major axis

3.1521 AU

Orbital period sidereal

5.60 yr (2,044 days)

Mean anomaly

268.73 °

Mean motion

0° 10 33.96 / day

Inclination

17.761°

Longitude of ascending node

303.33°

Argument of perihelion

310.87°

Mean diameter

26.363 ± 0.141 km , 27.14 km (derived) , 28 ± 3 km , 28.3 ± 2.8 km , 29.20 ± 2.2 km , 30.48 ± 0.53 km , 30.92 ± 9.63 km , 31.49 ± 9.20 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Pannonia

Followed by

1445 Konkolya

Follows

1443 Ruppina

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

26.363

Orbital period

2045.138240670987

Image

001444-asteroid shape model (1444) Pannonia.png

via Wikidata · CC0