Q157342

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

23 September 1916

Pronunciation

/ ˈ dʒ oʊ l iː / JOH -lee

Named after

Iole wife of Heracles , ( Greek mythology )

Alternative designations

A916 SJ · A903 QA, 1916 AF · 1903 QA

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( inner ) , background

Observation arc

116.07 yr (42,394 d)

Aphelion

2.5751 AU

Perihelion

1.8048 AU

Semi major axis

2.1900 AU

Orbital period sidereal

3.24 yr (1,184 d)

Mean anomaly

340.45 °

Mean motion

0° 18 14.76 / day

Inclination

4.8449°

Longitude of ascending node

199.76°

Argument of perihelion

179.78°

Mean diameter

5.757 ± 0.062 km

via Wikipedia infobox