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Sojourner
Spacecraft
A small robotic rover that made history as the first wheeled vehicle to explore Mars during the 1997 Pathfinder mission, traveling 100 meters across the Martian surface while analyzing rocks and conducting experiments for 83 days.
Key Facts
organization | NASA |
orbital regime | Inner System |
learn more | Wikipedia |
launched | 1996-12-04 |
defunct | 1998-03-10 |
launch mass | 11.5 kg |
power | 13 watts |
Mission Timeline
Launched
December 4, 1996 at 06:58 UTC
Mars
Rover
The small rover became the first wheeled vehicle to explore Mars, traveling 100 meters during its 83-day mission while analyzing rocks and testing new technologies as part of the Mars Pathfinder mission.
Defunct
March 10, 1998 at 00:00 UTC
The small Mars rover went silent on September 27, 1997, after exceeding its planned 7-day mission by 83 days and traveling 100 meters across the Martian surface while conducting chemical and atmospheric experiments.
Related Spacecraft
Mars Pathfinder
Launched in 1996
A robotic Mars lander and rover mission launched in 1996 that successfully landed on Mars using revolutionary airbag technology, deployed the Sojourner rover for 83 days of surface operations, and demonstrated new techniques for exploring the Red Planet.
Other Spacecraft
