Q154457

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

M. F. Wolf , A. Schwassmann

Discovery site

Heidelberg Obs.

Discovery date

4 June 1900

Pronunciation

/ ˈ æ b n ə b ə /

Named after

Abnoba , ( Celtic mythology )

Alternative designations

1900 FH · 1952 YF

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) , background

Observation arc

117.07 yr (42,761 days)

Aphelion

3.2873 AU

Perihelion

2.2894 AU

Semi major axis

2.7884 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.66 yr (1,701 days)

Mean anomaly

86.313 °

Mean motion

0° 12 42.12 / day

Inclination

14.439°

Longitude of ascending node

229.21°

Argument of perihelion

6.6794°

Dimensions

37.64 ± 1.44 km , 37.713 ± 0.222 km , 39.76 ± 3.6 km , 39.94 km (derived) , 42.65 ± 0.65 km , 50.495 ± 1.215 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

37.713

Orbital period

1696.535884622315

via Wikidata · CC0