Q145004

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

Pronunciation

/ f ɪ l ə k ˈ t iː t iː z /

Named after

Philoctetes , (Greek mythology)

Alternative designations

4596 P-L

Minor planet category

Jupiter trojan , ( Greek camp )

Observation arc

56.61 yr (20,677 days)

Aphelion

5.5755 AU

Perihelion

4.8600 AU

Semi major axis

5.2178 AU

Orbital period sidereal

11.92 yr (4,353 days)

Mean anomaly

247.19 °

Inclination

3.9745°

Longitude of ascending node

43.984°

Argument of perihelion

321.66°

Jupiter moid

0.0807 AU

Dimensions

22.655 ± 3.404 km

via Wikipedia infobox