Tag Archives: Deimos

A rover for Phobos and Deimos

Mars has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos. These are the target of the Japanese Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission, which also involves international partners. Scheduled for launch in 2024, it will enter Mars orbit in 2025, and return samples … Continue reading

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Curiosity catches two solar eclipses

When NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover landed in 2012, it brought along eclipse glasses. The solar filters on its Mast Camera (Mastcam) allow it to stare directly at the Sun. Over the past few weeks, Curiosity has been putting them to … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: Capturing Deimos!

Sols 2349-51, March 18, 2019, update by MSL scientist Catherine O’Connell-Cooper: The Curiosity Operations team planned a 3-sol plan today, with lots of activities for both the Environmental (ENV) and Geology (GEO) theme groups. Top priority for ENV and Mastcam … Continue reading

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Phobos & Deimos likely formed from big impact on Mars

[Editor’s note: From a paper by Timothy Glotch and seven co-authors recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.] MGS‐TES Spectra Suggest a Basaltic Component in the Regolith of Phobos • Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer spectra of Phobos … Continue reading

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Phobos may have come from big impact on Mars

Spectral fingerprints of Phobos’ surface support an ancient big crash origin for the Martian moon. The weird shapes and colors of the tiny Martian moons Phobos and Deimos have inspired a long-standing debate about their origins. The dark faces of … Continue reading

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HST images dusty Mars (and Phobos and Deimos) at opposition

With both Saturn and Mars coming to opposition — lying directly opposite the Sun in the sky — this summer, scientists used the Hubble Space Telescope to image both planets. But unlike the previous opposition, Mars is experiencing a planet-wide … Continue reading

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Phobos, Deimos formed after giant impact

Southwest Research Institute scientists posit a violent birth of the tiny Martian moons Phobos and Deimos, but on a much smaller scale than the giant impact thought to have resulted in the Earth-Moon system. Their work shows that an impact … Continue reading

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Mars Express views both moons against Saturn’s rings

New images and video from ESA’s Mars Express show Phobos and Deimos drifting in front of Saturn and background stars, revealing more about the positioning and surfaces of the Red Planet’s mysterious moons. Mars’ two small moons are intriguing objects. … Continue reading

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THEMIS images Phobos and Deimos

Phobos and Deimos, the moons of Mars, are seen in this movie put together from 19 images taken by the Mars Odyssey orbiter’s Thermal Emission Imaging System, or THEMIS, camera. The images were taken in visible-wavelength light. THEMIS also recorded … Continue reading

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Solar eruptions could electrify Martian moons

Powerful solar eruptions could electrically charge areas of the Martian moon Phobos to hundreds of volts, presenting a complex electrical environment that could possibly affect sensitive electronics carried by future robotic explorers, according to a new NASA study. The study … Continue reading

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