Scroll or pinch to deep-zoom · powered by IIIF

Rover, Marie Curie, Mars Pathfinder, Engineering Test Vehicle

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

Mars Pathfinder was the first spacecraft to land on the surface of the red planet since the Viking mission in 1976. It was launched on December 4, 1996. On reaching Mars on July 4, 1997, the spacecraft entered the planet's thin atmosphere, was slowed by a parachute and then rockets, and then landed by bouncing on inflated airbags. Once on the surface, the protective aeroshell unfolded to provide three flat platforms and ramps, one of which held a rover (Sojourner). The Sojourner rover traveled down one of the ramps and proceeded to take close up images of the surface using two black and white cameras on the front and a color camera on the rear. The rover also featured a rear-mounted Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer that provided bulk elemental composition data on surface soils and rocks.

Type

SPACECRAFT-Uncrewed

Medium

Aluminum Alloy, Gold Plating, Kapton-like Tape, Adhesive Tape (White and Black), GaAr/Ge Solar Cells, Electronics and Wiring, Onboard Computer, Side Color Panels, Paint, Possibly Lithium Thionyl Chloride (LiSOCl2) D-cell batteries, Antenna, RTV Rubber, Adhesives

Department

NASM

Institution

National Air and Space Museum

Object number

nasm_A20150317000

Credit

Transferred from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory