Q148112

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

J. Palisa

Discovery site

Vienna Obs.

Discovery date

19 May 1881

Pronunciation

/ s t ɪ ˈ f eɪ n i ə /

Named after

Princess Stéphanie , (Belgian royalty)

Alternative designations

A881 KA · 1925 VE, 1931 FP · 1932 UA, 1943 WB · 1946 MA, 1950 TT 4 · 1961 WB

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( inner ) , background

Observation arc

86.28 yr (31,514 days)

Aphelion

2.9543 AU

Perihelion

1.7443 AU

Semi major axis

2.3493 AU

Orbital period sidereal

3.60 yr (1,315 days)

Mean anomaly

239.16 °

Mean motion

0° 16 25.32 / day

Inclination

7.5895°

Longitude of ascending node

257.92°

Argument of perihelion

78.480°

Dimensions

31.04 km (derived) , 31.12 ± 1.5 km , 31.738 ± 0.219 km , 31.96 ± 9.77 km , 32.29 ± 0.33 km , 33 ± 2 km , 35.097 ± 0.260 km , 38.46 ± 5.77 km

via Wikipedia infobox