The Mars Pathfinder possessed five separate antennas for cruise, landing, and surface operations during its 1997 mission. The most important of these was this high-gain antenna, providing continuous telecommunications from the lander on the Martian surface to Earth. This high-gain antenna included a mechanically-steered slotted plate with 2 degrees of freedom in pointing. It provided a nominal 125 bits per second (b/s) uplink rate and a telemetry downlink rate of approximately 600 b/s that could be monitored using the NASA Deep Space Network on Earth containing 34-meter and 70-meter dish antennas.
NASA transferred this to the Museum with the Pathfinder engineering model in 1999.
Display Status
This object is on display in Space Science at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.
Object Details
Country of Origin
United States of America
Type
SPACECRAFT-Uncrewed-Parts & Structural Components
Manufacturer
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Dimensions
Overall: 2in. x 11in. x 1ft 2in. (5.1 x 27.9 x 35.6cm)
Materials
Metal, plastic, and eletronic components
Inventory Number
A19990073002
Credit Line
Transferred from Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
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