Free Astronomy Magazine March-April 2021

9 MARCH-APRIL 2021 MARS ROVERS M ars Pathfinder Landing Site. Mosaic of Viking orbiter im- ages illustrating the location of the lander (19.17 degrees N, 33.21 de- grees W in the USGS reference frame) with respect to surface features. Left, an animated overview of the Mars Pathfinder mission. [NASA/JPL] MARSPATHFINDER SCIENCE INSTRUMENTS • Alpha/Proton/X-ray Spectrometer (APXS): Determined the elemental com- position of rocks and soils. • Three Cameras: provided images of the surrounding ter- rain for geological studies, and docu- mented the perform- ance and operating environment for Pathfinder mission technologies. • Atmospheric Structure Instru- ment/Meteorology Package (ASI/MET): Measured the Mar- tian atmosphere during Pathfinder's descent to the sur- face, and provided meteorological measurements at the lander. weighing in at 10.5 kg and with six wheels, it had front and rear cam- eras and hardware to conduct vari- ous scientific experiments. Designed for a mission lasting just seven sols (1 sol ≃ 1.0275 Earth days), with a possible extension to 30 sols, it was actually active for 83 sols (85 Earth days). The rover communicated with Earth via the Pathfinder base sta-