Q150164

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

Auguste Charlois

Discovery date

28 January 1889

Pronunciation

/ k l ɒ ˈ r ɪ n d ( ə )/

Named after

Clorinda

Alternative designations

A889 BA, 1955 RQ

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

117.48 yr (42911 d)

Aphelion

2.52817 AU (378.209 Gm )

Perihelion

2.15070 AU (321.740 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.33944 AU (349.975 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

3.58 yr (1307.0 d )

Mean anomaly

277.334 °

Mean motion

0° 16 31.606 / day

Inclination

9.03297°

Longitude of ascending node

144.972°

Argument of perihelion

295.960°

Dimensions

39.03 ± 1.0 km

Synodic rotation period

6.42 h (0.268 d )

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

39.03

Orbital period

1306.560574436949

via Wikidata · CC0