Tag Archives: Phobos

Mars rings: Not now, but maybe someday

As children, we learned about our solar system’s planets by certain characteristics — Jupiter is the largest, Saturn has rings, Mercury is closest to the sun. Mars is red, but it’s possible that one of our closest neighbors also had … Continue reading

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MAVEN fires rocket engine to dodge Phobos

NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft performed a previously unscheduled maneuver this week to avoid a collision in the near future with Mars’ moon Phobos. (…) On Tuesday, Feb. 28, the spacecraft carried out a rocket motor burn that boosted its velocity by … Continue reading

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ExoMars: Trace Gas Orbiter images Phobos

The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter has imaged the martian moon Phobos as part of a second set of test science measurements made since it arrived at the Red Planet on 19 October. The Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), a joint endeavour … Continue reading

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Anomalous Phobos grooves caused by impacts

Some of the mysterious grooves on the surface of Mars’ moon Phobos are the result of debris ejected by impacts eventually falling back onto the surface to form linear chains of craters, according to a new study. One set of … Continue reading

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Tidal forces are ripping Phobos apart already

The inner martian moon Phobos is doomed. Scientists have long known that it is spiraling in toward Mars, and will break up from tidal forces before it falls into the planet sometime in the next few tens of millions of … Continue reading

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Giant impact made Mars moons Phobos, Deimos

Where did the two natural satellites of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, come from? For a long time, their shape suggested that they were asteroids captured by Mars. However, the shape and course of their orbits contradict this hypothesis. Two independent … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: Phobos transit and Soliday

Sol 1382-83, June 27, 2016, update from USGS scientist Ryan Anderson: Contact science in the Sol 1380-1381 plan went well, so we’re back to driving in the weekend plan! Sol 1382 will start with a Mastcam video of Phobos crossing … Continue reading

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MAVEN observes Phobos in ultraviolet

NASA scientists are closer to solving the mystery of how Mars’ moon Phobos formed. In late November and early December 2015, the MAVEN mission made a series of close approaches to the Martian moon Phobos, collecting data from within 300 … Continue reading

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Phobos’ demise to produce Martian ring system

Mars’ largest moon, Phobos, is slowly falling toward the planet, but rather than smash into the surface, it likely will be shredded and the pieces strewn about the planet in a ring like the rings encircling Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and … Continue reading

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Is Martian moon Phobos slowly falling apart?

The long, shallow grooves lining the surface of Phobos are likely early signs of the structural failure that will ultimately destroy this moon of Mars. Orbiting a mere 3,700 miles (6,000 kilometers) above the surface of Mars, Phobos is closer … Continue reading

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