Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

Mars Pathfinder (MPF) was the first spacecraft to land on the surface of the red planet since the Viking mission in 1976. This is a 3/4-scale model of the spacecraft that was launched on December 4, 1996. On reaching Mars on July 4, 1997, the spacecraft entered the planet's thin atmosphere, was slowed by a parachute and then rockets, and then landed by bouncing on inflated airbags. The protective aeroshell then unfolded to provide three flat platforms and ramps, one of which held a rover (Sojourner). After landing on Mars the Sojourner rover traveled down one of the ramps where it proceeded to take close up images of the surface using two color cameras on the front and a black and white camera on the rear. The rover also featured a rear-mounted Alpha Proto X-ray Spectrometer that provided bulk elemental composition data on surface soils and rocks.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manufactured this model and transferred it to the Museum in 2002.

 Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type MODELS-Uncrewed Spacecraft & Parts Manufacturer NASA - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
 Dimensions Approximate: 127 × 94 × 127cm (50 × 37 × 50 in.)
Storage (Aluminum pallet and frame with fabric cover): 152.4 × 152.4 × 141cm, 83.5kg (60 × 60 × 55 1/2 in., 184lb.)
 Materials Wood, Paint, Steel, Paper, Adhesive, Plastic, Foam
 Inventory Number A20020299000 Credit Line Transferred from NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use. You may also like Was Mars Ever Habitable? November 16, 2011