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LANDING SITEAres Vallis
LAT19.33°
LON-33.55°
MARS
Jul 4, 1997
LANDING DATE
1997
85 days
MISSION DURATION
TOTAL
-76 to -8 C (measured)
SURFACE TEMP
AT LANDING SITE
890
KG
MASS
5
INSTRUMENTS
SCIENTIFIC PAYLOAD
Mars Pathfinder is a lander mission by NASA / JPL on Mars. Landed July 4, 1997. Landing site: Ares Vallis.
ABOUT MARS PATHFINDER
Mars Pathfinder marked the return to Mars after 21 years and pioneered a new low-cost approach to planetary exploration. Landing on July 4, 1997 using innovative airbags, it deployed Sojourner — the first successful rover on Mars. The tiny rover (just 10.6 kg) analyzed rocks and soil for 83 days. Pathfinder became a global internet sensation, with its website receiving over 500 million hits — more than any previous internet event. The mission found evidence of ancient flooding at the Ares Vallis site.
KEY DISCOVERIES
- Rounded pebbles and conglomerates suggesting ancient floods
- Rocks at site were volcanic andesite
- Dust devils observed and recorded
- Demonstrated low-cost planetary exploration approach
TECHNOLOGY & FIRSTS
- First Mars landing since Viking 2 in 1976
- First successful Mars rover (Sojourner)
- Airbag landing system (innovative low-cost approach)
- First internet-era space event (500M+ website hits)
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS (5)
Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP)
Atmospheric Structure Instrument/Meteorology package (ASI/MET)
Sojourner rover: APXS (Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer)
Sojourner rover: cameras (3)
Sojourner rover: wheel abrasion experiment
SPACECRAFT SPECIFICATIONS
Mass890 kg (1,962 lbs)
PowerSolar panels
CommunicationsX-band direct to Earth
Design Life30 days
Landing DateJuly 4, 1997
Mission EndSeptember 27, 1997
ProgramDiscovery
SURFACE DATA
Surface Temperature-76 to -8 C (measured)
Surface Pressure6.7 mbar (measured)
🚀 LAUNCH MISSION