QUESTION:
We wondered about the high accuracy of the given distances in the trajectory
data for pathfinder. They are given up to exact meters. We wonder, how this
is possible, when there are distances of several million kilometers. Are the
data given in the correct form or do they need some rounding? If they are
correct, where are start and stop of the distances?

ANSWER from Pieter Kallemeyn on June 2, 1997:
The numbers you're referring represent our computer model of the  the
nominal trajectory, and represents our best knowledge of the actual flight
path. The real trajectory doesn't follow this computer model exactly, of
course, and there is typically anywhere from 1-10 kilometers of error
inbetween our model and the real thing.
 
- Pieter Kallemeyn, Mars Pathfinder NAV team chief