Daily Extra :
Astronomy & Space Fact
SR-71, also known as the "Blackbird," is the research aircraft used by NASA as a test bed for high-speed, high-altitude aeronautical research. It was secretly designed in the 1950s at Lockheed's Advanced Development Company, commonly known as "Skunk Works."
Today in History:
1997: Mars Pathfinder - USA Lander & Surface Rover (December 4, 1996 - September 27, 1997) lost contact. Mars Pathfinder arrived at Mars on July 4, 1997 and impacted the surface at 16:57 UT (12:57 PM EDT) at a velocity of about 18 m/s (40 mph). It bounced about 15 meters (50 feet) into the air, bouncing another 15 times and rolling before coming to rest approximately 2.5 minutes after impact and about 1 km from the initial impact site. The landing site was in the Ares Vallis region is at 19.33 N, 33.55 W and was named the Sagan Memorial Station. A six-wheel rover, named Sojourner, rolled onto the Martian surface on July 6 at about 05:40 UT. Mars Pathfinder returned 2.6 billion bits of information, including more than 16,000 images from the lander and 550 images from the rover, as well as more than 15 chemical analyses of rocks and extensive data on winds and other weather factors. The last successful data transmission was on September 27, 1997, the 83rd day of the mission since landing on the surface. This is the second mission in NASA's low-cost Discovery series.
