Q212970

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

R. Luther

Discovery site

Düsseldorf Obs.

Discovery date

13 August 1861

Pronunciation

/ ˈ n aɪ ə b iː /

Named after

Νιόβη Niobē (Greek mythology)

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( middle ) , Gallia

Adjectives

Niobean / n aɪ ə ˈ b iː ə n /

Observation arc

154.10 yr (56,286 d)

Aphelion

3.2348 AU

Perihelion

2.2790 AU

Semi major axis

2.7569 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.58 yr (1,672 d)

Mean anomaly

178.02 °

Mean motion

0° 12 55.08 / day

Inclination

23.259°

Longitude of ascending node

316.02°

Argument of perihelion

266.88°

Mean diameter

75.87 ± 3.28 km , 80.86 ± 0.80 km , 83.42 ± 1.7 km , 92.75 km (taken) , 92.753 km , 92.842 ± 0.644 km

via Wikipedia infobox