Launch of Mars Pathfinder

Mars Pathfinder was a NASA mission to Mars that landed a stationary lander and a small wheeled rover on the surface, as one of the first low-cost Discovery missions. It touched down in Ares Vallis, a large ancient flood plain, using a parachute, rockets and a system of airbags that let it bounce to a stop. The rover, called Sojourner, was the first wheeled vehicle to operate on another planet. It analysed rocks and soil with an X-ray spectrometer, showing that some rocks differed from Martian meteorites. The mission returned a large number of images and weather data and attracted huge public attention, ending when contact was lost a few months later.

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