7 historic July 4th events in US history

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Tuesday, July 04, 2023

NASA rover lands on Mars – July 4, 1997

Footage from the 1997 Mars Pathfinder mission. The Sojourner rover arrived on Mars on July 4, 1997. | NASA/JPL

The Fourth of July also marks the anniversary of when the NASA rover Sojourner landed on Mars, allowing for ground-level data collection on the Red Planet.

Named after Sojourner Truth, the rover was brought to the planet via the Mars Pathfinder and collected an assortment of data about the alien world, including photos and atmospheric measurements.

“The mission was designed to demonstrate a low-cost method for delivering a set of science instruments to Mars, and served as the foundation for the Mars rovers of today,” noted NASA.

“Mars Pathfinder returned 2.3 billion bits of information, including more than 16,500 images from the lander and 550 images from the rover, as well as more than 15 chemical analyses of rocks and soil and extensive data on winds and other weather factors.”