TOPIC · National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Mars Pathfinder
A NASA mission that landed in Ares Vallis in 1997 and deployed Sojourner, the first robotic rover on Mars.
Contents
living encyclopedia entry3 sections · 1 images · 2 sources · 1 linksupdated · 6 Sept 2026#Mars#Sojourner#rover#přistání
Mars Pathfinder demonstrated a new way to land on Mars: after atmospheric entry it used a parachute and a system of inflatable airbags. The lander opened in Ares Vallis on 4 July 1997 and deployed the small Sojourner rover.
Sojourner examined rocks and soil with its APXS instrument while the lander returned panoramas and weather measurements. The mission strongly influenced later Mars rover programmes and showed that a mobile laboratory could be delivered safely on a limited budget.
FACTS
- At 10.6 kg, Sojourner was the first wheeled robot operated on another planet.
- The lander returned more than 16,500 images and the rover another 550 images.
- The mission operated until 27 September 1997, beyond the rover’s originally planned week of activity.
SOURCES & FURTHER READINGlast verified · 27 July 2026
◉ NASA photography — public domain✦ AI illustration — marked, generated from sourcesarticle text — CC-BY-SA
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