Q155698

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

Discovery site

Heidelberg Obs.

Discovery date

22 February 1906

Pronunciation

/ h ɪ p ˈ s ɪ p ɪ l iː /

Named after

Hypsipyle , (Greek mythology)

Alternative designations

1906 TF · 1931 CH, 1956 EN 1

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( inner ) , Phocaea

Observation arc

111.10 yr (40,578 days)

Aphelion

2.7254 AU

Perihelion

1.9442 AU

Semi major axis

2.3348 AU

Orbital period sidereal

3.57 yr (1,303 days)

Mean anomaly

85.891 °

Mean motion

0° 16 34.68 / day

Inclination

24.993°

Longitude of ascending node

324.58°

Argument of perihelion

188.53°

Dimensions

11.022 ± 0.086 km , 11.51 ± 0.50 km , 12.944 ± 0.103 km , 12.991 km , 12.99 km (taken) , 13.54 ± 0.28 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

11.022

Orbital period

1303.794787128959

via Wikidata · CC0