Mars Pathfinder

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.

Annotated panorama of the Ares Vallis landing site of the Mars Pathfinder lander. Annotations of surrounding features and rocks identified by the Pathfinder mission team.

External Links

• Mars Pathfinder web site - Main entry, links to:
  • Web Site at the Time of Landing
  • Web Site at the End of the Mission
  • Web Site CD-ROM Directory

• Mars Pathfinder Mission Objectives