Q143602

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. J. van Houten , I. van Houten-G. , T. Gehrels

Discovery site

Palomar Obs.

Discovery date

24 September 1960

Named after

Tom Gehrels (astronomer)

Alternative designations

4007 P-L · 1937 GN, 1941 BU · 1951 QB, 1958 DA · A905 UE, A923 AA

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle )

Observation arc

111.43 yr (40,699 days)

Aphelion

2.6705 AU

Perihelion

2.5810 AU

Semi major axis

2.6258 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.25 yr (1,554 days)

Mean anomaly

37.596 °

Mean motion

0° 13 53.76 / day

Inclination

3.1476°

Longitude of ascending node

334.69°

Argument of perihelion

131.12°

Dimensions

11.860 ± 0.184 , 12.486 ± 0.228 km , 12.667 km , 12.67 km (taken) , 13.14 ± 1.25 km

Synodic rotation period

2.83 ± 0.05 h , 2.835 52 ± 0.000 01 h , 2.8356 ± 0.0002 h , 2.8356 ± 0.0001 h , 2.8358 ± 0.0001 h , 2.836 ± 0.001 h , 2.837 ± 0.002 h , 2.840 ± 0.004 h

via Wikipedia infobox