Mars Pathfinder
AgencyNASA
Year1996-1997
TypeMars surface
RocketDelta II
CountryUSA
About the Mission
Landed with giant airbags on July 4, 1997, bouncing a dozen times before stopping. Deployed Sojourner, the first rover on Mars, the size of a microwave oven. A radically cheaper mission after the costly Viking era. Its website recorded record internet traffic for the time. Proved the airbag and rover concepts used ever since.
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