Q158366

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

Discovery site

Simeiz Obs.

Discovery date

5 November 1921

Pronunciation

/ l iː oʊ ˈ k eɪ d i ə /

Named after

unknown

Alternative designations

A921 VC · 1940 RV, 1944 SB · 1948 UG, 1963 PA · 1921 KZ

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( inner ) , background

Observation arc

98.12 yr (35,837 d)

Aphelion

2.9694 AU

Perihelion

1.9537 AU

Semi major axis

2.4615 AU

Orbital period sidereal

3.86 yr (1,411 d)

Mean anomaly

199.53 °

Mean motion

0° 15 18.72 / day

Inclination

2.2928°

Longitude of ascending node

287.76°

Argument of perihelion

91.332°

Mean diameter

17.321 ± 0.218 km 19.37 ± 0.22 km 19.51 ± 0.7 km

Synodic rotation period

6.87 ± 0.01 h

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

17.321

Orbital period

1411.557930175083

via Wikidata · CC0