page_title: List of artificial objects on Mars
section_title: From orbit
hierarchical_section_title: List of artificial objects on Mars / From orbit
caption_attribution_description: English: This image shows the Pathfinder lander on the surface. Zooming in, one can discern the ramps, science deck, and portions of the airbags on the Pathfinder lander. The back shell and parachute are to the south, and four features that may be portions of the heat shield are identified. Two of these were visible from Pathfinder. At the time of that mission, the nearest object was provisionally identified as the back shell. However, analysis of the HiRISE image and reinterpretation of Pathfinder images, plus an improved understanding of how hardware looks on the Martian surface based on ground-level and orbital images of the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites, indicate that the glint is bright enough that it may be insulating material from inside the heat shield. The back shell and parachute were out of sight behind a ridge from Pathfinder's ground view. One of the three bright features, identified as heat shield debris, was also identified during the Pathfinder mission.
context_page_description: The following table is a partial list of artificial objects on the surface of Mars, consisting of spacecraft which were launched from Earth. Most are defunct after having served their purpose, but the Curiosity rover and the InSight lander are still operational as of 2019. InSight is the most recent artificial object to land safely on Mars. The table does not include smaller objects, such as springs, fragments, parachutes and heat shields. As of November 5, 2016, there are about 14 spacecraft missions on the surface of Mars: some of these missions have multiple spacecraft.
caption: Mars Pathfinder seen from space by the MRO HiRISE
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