Mars Pathfinder: mission and targets
Data as of 2026-10-04
Dates declared by the archive
- Project start
- November 1, 1993
- Declared end
- March 10, 1998
The start the archive declares is the start of the project, not the launch, and an end it does not declare does not mean the mission is still running.
In Galaxy
Targets you can open in 3D:
A declared target is what the archive files the mission’s data under, not a record of observation.
Description published by the archive
The Mars Pathfinder mission, designed to demonstrate a low-cost method for delivering a set of science instruments to the Red Planet, was the first wheeled vehicle to be used on any other planet in the solar system and served as the foundation for the Mars rovers of today. The mission landed a rover -- Sojourner -- on the surface of Mars using an air bag landing system and innovative petal design, which have been used since in various incarnations to land other rovers on the Red Planet. Sojourner spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain, snapping photographs and taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements
Quoted in English, as the archive publishes it, read on October 4, 2026.
Source
Identifier in the archive, which is its citation: urn:nasa:pds:context:investigation:mission.mars_pathfinder
NASA Planetary Data System, PDS Registry, investigation context products. Dates and targets read on September 29, 2026; how to cite the archive: https://pds.nasa.gov/datastandards/citing/