Q145708

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

L. Zhuravleva

Discovery site

Crimean Astrophysical Obs.

Discovery date

4 September 1972

Named after

Alexander Alekhine , ( chess grandmaster )

Alternative designations

1972 RW 2 · 1926 GU, 1930 KF · 1930 KM, 1934 NZ · 1934 OC, 1941 FJ · 1960 FD, 1969 UU · 1971 DL

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( inner )

Observation arc

91.06 yr (33,259 days)

Aphelion

2.9693 AU

Perihelion

1.8758 AU

Semi major axis

2.4226 AU

Orbital period sidereal

3.77 yr (1,377 days)

Mean anomaly

53.882 °

Mean motion

0° 15 41.04 / day

Inclination

1.7955°

Longitude of ascending node

227.46°

Argument of perihelion

5.6412°

Dimensions

15.45 ± 9.22 km , 17.33 km (derived) , 17.42 ± 1.5 km ( IRAS :15) , 18.59 ± 0.37 km , 18.681 ± 0.043 , 18.847 ± 0.129 km

Synodic rotation period

148.2252 ± 0.6228 h , 148.6 ± 0.2 h

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

18.681

Orbital period

1376.025593401645

via Wikidata · CC0