Seven months after the Mars Pathfinder – later renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station – was launched, it landed on Ares Vallis on July 4, 1997. The lander, “Sojourner,” performed many experiments on the surface of Mars. Scientific instruments analyzed the Martian geology and rock composition, atmosphere, and climate. Pathfinder was the first successful to send a rover to a planet. The project also was a test of an airbag-mediated touchdown and automated obstacle avoidance.