Facts on Mars Pathfinder
The Mars Pathfinder mission was a resounding success by any measure. Following are the key facts on Mars Pathfinder.
Facts on Mars Pathfinder
The Mars Pathfinder mission was designed to meet two general goals. First, NASA sought to show it could launch a mission for a relatively cheap price compared to previous efforts. Second, the more obvious goal was to explore Mars more thoroughly than every before. Both goals were met and exceeded.
Mars Pathfinder landed on the Ares Vallis plain on Mars on July 4, 1997. The Pathfinder rover, named Sojourner, rolled out onto the surface on July 6 and proceed to perform experiments for a 30-day period per mission objectives. All goals were met and then a funny thing happened. The rover was ready for more as was Pathfinder.
Programmed and powered to run only for a week, Sojourner proved to be very determined. The rover would run for an additional nine weeks, eventually petering out on September 27, 1997.
Pathfinder proved to be even more of a survivor. NASA was able to lengthen the battery life of the Pathfinder by turning power off during evenings. This allowed the Mars Pathfinder to continue sending back data for an incredible 285 days.
The additional "lives" of the rover and probe produced a bevy of unanticipated information.
Although the Pathfinder mission revealed many discoveries, the four most important are considered to be:
- Mission control was able to accurately predict the landing area and achieve landing without having the benefit of visual clues. This supported the viability of future missions.
- Sojourner found high amounts of silica in some rocks, a complete surprise to scientists since the finding were very similar to those found in rocks on Earth.
- Mars temperature was known to fluctuate, but not to the extent discovered by the rover. While on the planet, Sojourner experienced massive temperature fluctuation in a matter of seconds, some as much as 20 degrees.
- Mars previously had water. Rock samples revealed that huge floods rolled across the surface of the planet as recent as 1 billion years ago.
In addition to these amazing findings, Mars Pathfinder revealed:
- The observed atmospheric clarity of Mars is higher than was expected from Earth-based microwave measurements and Hubble Space Telescope observations.
- Dust is confirmed as the dominant absorber of solar radiation in Mars' atmosphere, which has important consequences for the transport of energy in the atmosphere and its circulation.
- Evidence of wind abrasion of rocks and dune-shaped deposits was found, indicating the presence of sand.
- Morning atmospheric obscurations are due to clouds, not ground fog as previously thought.
- The possible identification of rounded pebbles and cobbles on the ground, and sockets and pebbles in some rocks, suggests conglomerates that formed in running water during a warmer past in which liquid water was stable.
The facts on Mars Pathfinder reveal a NASA mission that not only met mission objectives, but also far exceeded them. Alas, no little green men or women were found, but much was learned about Mars.
