Some of the excited engineers and staff on landing day.
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
Headlines declare: Mars Pathfinder Lands on July 4th
The Mars Pathfinder was launched on a rocket last December. The spacecraft landed on Mars on July 4th, 1997.
If you had the chance to visit Mars, you might take pictures of your trip. This is exactly what the Mars Pathfinder does. It has a camera that will take pictures of Mars.
If you were on the surface of Mars, you might collect rocks there. The Pathfinder spacecraft has a rover that does this. The rover searches the surface of Mars and collects rocks that can be tested.
Mars Pathfinder will finish its surface mission in August 1997.
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