Q158353

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

K. Reinmuth

Discovery site

Heidelberg Obs.

Discovery date

24 November 1921

Pronunciation

/ p ɪ ˈ tj uː n i ə /

Named after

Petunia , (genus of flowers)

Alternative designations

A921 WJ · 1935 QK 1 , 1948 KC · 1921 KW

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer ) , Itha

Observation arc

98.19 yr (35,865 d)

Aphelion

3.2572 AU

Perihelion

2.4741 AU

Semi major axis

2.8657 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.85 yr (1,772 d)

Mean anomaly

15.803 °

Mean motion

0° 12 11.52 / day

Inclination

11.598°

Longitude of ascending node

208.84°

Argument of perihelion

297.54°

Mean diameter

24.422 ± 0.232 km 27.77 ± 2.9 km 29.51 ± 0.49 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

24.422

Orbital period

1774.987769575621

Image

000968-asteroid shape model (968) Petunia.png

via Wikidata · CC0