Q152904

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

Pronunciation

/ æ l ə ˈ m æ n i ə /

Named after

Alemannia , ( student fraternity )

Alternative designations

1896 CV

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) , background

Observation arc

111.94 yr (40,886 days)

Aphelion

2.9024 AU

Perihelion

2.2829 AU

Semi major axis

2.5927 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.17 yr (1,525 days)

Mean anomaly

327.11 °

Mean motion

0° 14 9.96 / day

Inclination

6.8178°

Longitude of ascending node

248.83°

Argument of perihelion

126.68°

Dimensions

32.98 ± 1.04 km , 34.10 ± 4.6 km , 40.12 ± 0.62 km , 40.330 ± 0.578 km , 45.448 ± 0.509 km

Synodic rotation period

4.67 ± 0.05 h , 4.671 h , 4.6714 ± 0.0001 h , 4.6727 ± 0.0003 h , 4.680 ± 0.024 h , 5.82 h (poor)

Geometric albedo

0.1057 ± 0.0158 , 0.137 ± 0.005 , 0.1878 ± 0.062 , 0.201 ± 0.027

Spectral type

Tholen = M · M , B–V = 0.703 , U–B = 0.225

via Wikipedia infobox