Q144114

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 , ( Palomar–Leiden survey )

Discovery site

Palomar Obs.

Discovery date

24 September 1960

Pronunciation

/ ɛ p ɪ ˈ m iː θ iː ə s /

Named after

Epimetheus , ( Greek mythology )

Alternative designations

4196 P-L · 1942 FS, 1950 SC · 1957 WC 1 , 1962 GC · 1970 SS

Minor planet category

main-belt · Flora

Observation arc

66.21 yr (24,182 days)

Aphelion

2.4284 AU

Perihelion

2.0198 AU

Semi major axis

2.2241 AU

Orbital period sidereal

3.32 yr (1,211 days)

Mean anomaly

338.76 °

Mean motion

0° 17 49.92 / day

Inclination

4.0315°

Longitude of ascending node

254.12°

Argument of perihelion

203.70°

Dimensions

7.669 ± 0.162 km , 8.19 km (calculated)

via Wikipedia infobox