Discovery of the Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos
An unusual pair of craters on Mars formed when a moon broke apart before crashing into the planet’s surface about a billion years ago, a new study suggests.
The craters could hint at what lies in store for Phobos, a potato-shaped moon that is expected to smash into Mars millions of years from now.
The two craters, which lie about 12.5 kilometres apart, share the same oval shape and nearly the same west-east alignment.
Article: (source: newscientist.com)
Mars Express closed in on the intriguing martian moon Phobos at 6:50 CEST on 23 July, flying past at 2.96 km/s, only 100 km from the centre of the moon. The ESA spacecraft’s fly-bys of the moon have returned its most detailed full-disc images ever, also in 3-D, using the High Resolution Stereo Camera on board.
The images obtained by several other spacecraft so far have either been of a lower resolution, or not available in 3D and have not covered the entire disc of Phobos. This is also the first time that portions of the far-side of the moon have been imaged in such high resolution
Article: (source: esa.int)
Scientists and engineers are preparing ESA’s Mars Express for several close fly-bys of the Martian moon Phobos. Passing within 100 km of the surface, Mars Express will conduct some of the most detailed investigations of the moon to date.
The series of fly-bys will take place between 12 July and 3 August. During the second encounter, the spacecraft will fly within 273 km of the surface. Six days later, Mars Express will close to within just 97 km.
Although the Red Planet itself has been studied in detail, very little is known about the origins of its moons, Phobos and Deimos.
Article: (source: esa.int)
The Mars Institute is co-convening this week a unique scientific meeting titled “First International Conference on the Exploration of Phobos and Deimos: The Science, Robotic Reconnaissance, and Human Exploration of the Two Moons of Mars.” The conference is being held at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.
The meeting is bringing together scientists, engineers, space exploration professionals, and students from around the world to discuss over three intense days (5-7 Nov 2007) the exploration of Mars’s two mysterious satellites and how their exploration relates to that of the Moon, Mars, small bodies, and the solar system beyond
Article: (source: marsinstitute.info)
NASA.gov MarsToday.com