Q155406

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

P. Götz

Discovery site

Heidelberg Obs.

Discovery date

14 October 1904

Pronunciation

/ p r æ k ˈ s iː d ɪ s / (Πραξηδίς)

Named after

Novel character , ( Joseph Victor von Scheffel )

Alternative designations

1904 PB

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) , Postrema

Observation arc

112.72 yr (41,171 days)

Aphelion

3.4304 AU

Perihelion

2.1237 AU

Semi major axis

2.7770 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.63 yr (1,690 days)

Mean anomaly

161.79 °

Mean motion

0° 12 46.8 / day

Inclination

16.899°

Longitude of ascending node

193.21°

Argument of perihelion

195.64°

Dimensions

52.462 ± 1.716 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

52.462

Orbital period

1687.125416497046

via Wikidata · CC0