OTD in Space - Sept. 27: Last Transmission From Mars Pathfinder
- 2 years ago
On Sept. 27, 1997, NASA's Mars Pathfinder mission beamed its very last data transmission back to Earth. [‘On This Day in Space’ Video Series on Space.com](https://www.space.com/39251-on-this-day-in-space.html)
The Mars Pathfinder mission consisted of a base station and the very first Mars rover named Sojourner. Pathfinder was three months in to what was supposed to be just a one-month mission when the base station's battery began to fail. NASA struggled to reestablish contact with Pathfinder for another five months before giving up and calling the mission complete.
The Mars Pathfinder mission consisted of a base station and the very first Mars rover named Sojourner. Pathfinder was three months in to what was supposed to be just a one-month mission when the base station's battery began to fail. NASA struggled to reestablish contact with Pathfinder for another five months before giving up and calling the mission complete.