Q157138

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

H. Thiele

Discovery site

Bergedorf Obs.

Discovery date

17 November 1914

Pronunciation

/ m ɒ n ˈ t æ n ə /

Named after

Bergedorf Observatory , Latin for "mountain village"

Alternative designations

1914 VR · 1953 JG, 1957 MG · A898 WA

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle )

Observation arc

101.83 yr (37,194 days)

Aphelion

2.6904 AU

Perihelion

2.3793 AU

Semi major axis

2.5348 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.04 yr (1,474 days)

Mean anomaly

277.77 °

Mean motion

0° 14 39.12 / day

Inclination

4.5102°

Longitude of ascending node

238.35°

Argument of perihelion

355.40°

Dimensions

19.20 ± 0.49 km , 21.197 ± 0.208 , 21.678 ± 0.046 km , 21.91 ± 0.41 km , 25.41 km (calculated)

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

21.197

Orbital period

1474.079648196822

via Wikidata · CC0