                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                 2026 July 4

                             Pathfinder on Mars
                  Image Credit: Mars Pathfinder, JPL, NASA

   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.

                    Tomorrow's picture: painting Iapetus
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

