Nasa Web Nasa Mars Pathfinder Landed On The Red Planet On July 4 1997 And Took This Selfie Of The Lander And Its Diminutive Rover

NASA's Mars Pathfinder landed on the Red Planet on July 4, 1997, and took this selfie of the lander and its diminutive rover. Named for abolitionist Sojourner Truth, the 26 inch long by 7 inch tall rover is perched on one of three solar panels in this image. The white material to the left of the front of the rover is part of the airbag system used to cushion the landing. Pathfinder, a low-cost Discovery mission, was the first of a new fleet of spacecraft designed to explore Mars.

Both the Sojourner rover and Pathfinder far outlasted their planned mission life. The final data transmission received from Pathfinder came nearly 3 months after landing - at 10:23 UTC on September 27, 1997. After landing Pathfinder was named Carl Sagan Memorial Station.

Learn more about Pathfinder and Sojourner:

Reference: dark-sky-misteries.blogspot.com