APOD: 2026 July 4 Б Pathfinder on Mars
Explanation:
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.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
