Mars Pathfinder

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A mission patch for the Mars Pathfinder mission in 1996.

Overview

This NASA mission was launched on a Delta II rocket on December 4, 1996. The Mars Pathfinder mission was used to demonstrate that NASA could send an exploratory mission to Mars for 1/15th of the cost of the Viking budget in the 1970's. The mission was developed at a cost of under $150 million in 3 years.

One of the major mission objectives was to deliver a microrover to the surface safely so the surface composition and, ultimately, the search for life could be carried out. The microrover onbord was known as Sojourner.

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