When NASA's Pathfinder probe hit Mars at 23.4 mph on July 4, 1997, it was three small bounces for the machine, one giant step for mankind. Thanks to air bags that Tom Rivellini and his team at the Jet Propulsion Lab fashioned from Hoechst Celanese's Vectra liquid crystal polymer, the Pathfinder arrived at the Red Planet swathed in a protective cocoon, emerging unscathed from the collision. Shortly thereafter, the probe's Rover sent back its first pictures from Mars, landing NASA its grandest achievement since the moon landing two decades before. The event reawakened public interest in space exploration. There were numerous technological wonders and advanced mechanical systems at work in the Pathfinder, but it was the air bag inflation and retraction configuration that garnered the highest praise in design terms for its elegantly straightforward approach to a complex problem. The Jet Propulsion team was feted with the Sandia Laboratory Meritorious Achievement Award and the Design Magazine Excellence in Design Award. Meanwhile chief engineer Rivellini was named 1998's Engineer of the Year by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, in addition to winning NASA's Exceptional Achievement Medal and a New Millennium Team Leadership Award. The team is readying for another Mars return launch in 2003.