Q142854

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

E. Delporte

Discovery site

Uccle Obs.

Discovery date

28 February 1932

Named after

Vladimir, (grandson of astronomer) , Milorad Protić

Alternative designations

1932 DC · 1932 ED 1 , 1934 TB · 1952 UV 1 , 1961 VK · 1965 SE

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle )

Observation arc

85.17 yr (31,110 days)

Aphelion

2.8670 AU

Perihelion

2.5580 AU

Semi major axis

2.7125 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.47 yr (1,632 days)

Mean anomaly

119.75 °

Mean motion

0° 13 14.16 / day

Inclination

12.232°

Longitude of ascending node

164.03°

Argument of perihelion

298.51°

Dimensions

28.40 ± 12.05 km , 28.45 ± 9.13 km , 32.85 ± 0.42 km , 34.79 km ( IRAS :15) , 35.84 ± 0.48 km , 36.3 ± 3.6 km , 38.476 ± 0.236 , 40 ± 4 km , 42.505 ± 0.219 km

Synodic rotation period

12.557 ± 0.0123 h , 12.57 ± 0.01 h , 12.574 ± 0.0043 h , 12.582 ± 0.002 h

via Wikipedia infobox