# Canonical recap data for Pathfinder Mars Rover Landing (1997)
# Source: https://recap.at/1997/pathfinder-mars-landing
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: pathfinder-mars-landing
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1997/pathfinder-mars-landing"
title: Pathfinder Mars Rover Landing
aliases:
- Mars Pathfinder
- Sojourner rover mission
- July 4, 1997 Mars landing
subtitle: NASA's Pathfinder successfully landed on Mars and deployed Sojourner, proving that low-cost, mobile planetary exploration was viable and inspiring decades of Mars missions.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1997-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1997
decade: 1990
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: The Pathfinder Mural is a work of art formerly located at 410 West Street in the New York City neighborhood known as the West Village. It was conceived of by artist Mike Alewitz in 1988 and painted as a collaboration among eighty artists from twenty nations, who painted it on the side of the Socialist Workers Party (SW
summaryLong: The Pathfinder Mural is a work of art formerly located at 410 West Street in the New York City neighborhood known as the West Village. It was conceived of by artist Mike Alewitz in 1988 and painted as a collaboration among eighty artists from twenty nations, who painted it on the side of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) building housing the Pathfinder Press, the publishing arm of the Pathfinder tendency, a left-wing organization.
lede: On July 4, 1997, NASA's Pathfinder rover touched down on Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to successfully land on the Red Planet in over 20 years and marking a watershed moment in planetary exploration. The mission deployed Sojourner, a small six-wheeled rover, which spent 83 days analyzing Martian soil and rocks, fundamentally changing our understanding of Mars' geology and water history. Pathfinder demonstrated that Mars exploration could be done faster and cheaper than previous efforts, reshaping how space agencies approach planetary missions.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Rover%2C_Marie_Curie%2C_Mars_Pathfinder%2C_Engineering_Test_Vehicle_-_DPLA_-_82ff593b84c2dc28eb0c8954b4d2c14b_%28page_1%29.jpg/1280px-Rover%2C_Marie_Curie%2C_Mars_Pathfinder%2C_Engineering_Test_Vehicle_-_DPLA_-_82ff593b84c2dc28eb0c8954b4d2c14b_%28page_1%29.jpg"
heroImageCredit: "\"<div class='fn'> Rover, Marie Curie, Mars Pathfinder, Engineering Test Vehicle</div>\" by Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology is marked with CC0 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en/."
importance: 83
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Launch date
  value: December 4, 1996
- label: Landing date
  value: July 4, 1997
- label: Sojourner rover operational days
  value: 83 days
- label: Sojourner rover weight
  value: 10.6 kg (23 lbs)
- label: Years since previous Mars landing
  value: 20 (Viking 2 in 1976)
- label: Cost of mission
  value: $265 million
- label: Rock and soil samples analyzed
  value: Over 15 targets
timeline:
- date: 1996-12-04
  title: Pathfinder launches from Cape Canaveral
  description: NASA's Pathfinder spacecraft launches aboard a Delta II rocket on a seven-month journey to Mars.
- date: 1997-07-04
  title: Pathfinder lands on Mars
  description: Pathfinder executes a controlled landing in Ares Vallis using a novel airbag system, becoming the first successful Mars landing since Viking 2 in 1976.
- date: 1997-07-07
  title: Sojourner rover deploys onto Martian surface
  description: The six-wheeled Sojourner rover drives down the lander's ramp and begins exploring the immediate area around Pathfinder.
- date: 1997-07-21
  title: First rock analyzed by rover
  description: Sojourner approaches and analyzes Barnard's Rock, the first target of its geological survey, using its onboard spectrometer.
- date: 1997-09-27
  title: Final transmission from Pathfinder
  description: Pathfinder ceases communication after 83 sols (Martian days), with Sojourner having traveled 100 meters and analyzed rock and soil composition.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathfinder_Mural"
  title: Pathfinder Mural
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Pathfinder revived Mars exploration after a 20-year hiatus and proved that lean, efficient missions could deliver big science. Its success triggered a cascade of subsequent Mars rovers and landers that continue operating today, turning Mars into humanity's primary focus for robotic planetary exploration.
categories:
- tech-launch
metaDescription: NASA's Pathfinder rover lands on Mars in 1997, deploying Sojourner and revealing the planet's geological secrets.
wikidataQid: Q7144762
taxonomy:
domain: technological
eventTypes:
- space_mission
canonicalClasses:
- discovery
- creation
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20080808081417/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathfinder_Mural"
  capturedAt: 2008-08-08
  label: Pathfinder Mural
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathfinder_Mural"
