Mars Pathfinder
Mission overview
Mars Pathfinder landed using airbags and deployed Sojourner, the first wheeled rover on Mars.
Mission data
Identity and engineering data from Wikidata (type-verified match · Q201771) · launch date 1996-12-04 confirmed
| International designator | 1996-068A | Wikidata · catalogued |
| Launch mass | 890 kg | Wikidata · catalogued |
Full field-level provenance
- International designator: Wikidata (Wikimedia Foundation) — community-curated structured knowledge base · Wikidata · wdt · P247 · catalogued value · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Launch mass: Wikidata (Wikimedia Foundation) — community-curated structured knowledge base · Wikidata · wdt · P2067 · catalogued value · retrieved 2026-07-11
Sourced from Wikidata (community-maintained structured data, whose statements link to their own citations where provided); each value carries its Wikidata QID. A field with conflicting Wikidata values is omitted. Launch date is used only to cross-check the catalogue, never to override it. Fields Wikidata did not provide, or where conflicting values exist, are omitted, never invented.
Outcome & discoveries
Demonstrated low-cost landing and roving, returning thousands of images and rock analyses.
Mission profile
Spacecraft
Knowledge connections
- Operated byNASA
- Mission targetMars
- Mission includesSojourner
- Associated withMars Pathfinder and Sojourner
- Associated withFirst Rover on Another Planet
Related missions
| Mission | Type | Agency | Launch | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freedom 7 (Mercury-Redstone 3) | Crewed suborbital | NASA | 1961-05-05 | Completed |
| Friendship 7 (Mercury-Atlas 6) | Crewed orbital | NASA | 1962-02-20 | Completed |
| Apollo 8The Moon | Crewed lunar orbit | NASA | 1968-12-21 | Completed |
| Apollo 11The Moon | Crewed lunar landing | NASA | 1969-07-16 | Completed |
| Apollo 13The Moon | Crewed lunar (aborted) | NASA | 1970-04-11 | Completed |
| Apollo 17The Moon | Crewed lunar landing | NASA | 1972-12-07 | Completed |
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- NASA JPLJet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics
Orbital data, ephemerides, and small-body parameters for planets, asteroids, and comets.