Phobos, seen from close up

2010/03/09 Kortabitarte Egiguren, Irati - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Astrofisika

The Mars Express probe approached last Wednesday at an altitude of 67 kilometers on the surface of the moon of Phobos on Mars, closer than ever. The data extracted from this approximation can serve to understand the origin of the moon Phobos.

The origin of this moon of Mars is full of mysteries. In fact, although it seems like a solid object, previous studies have shown that its density is less than that it should have a solid body. This may mean that between 25% and 35% of the Moon is empty. From these data, scientists have concluded that Phobos could be a “set of residues” in the orbit of Mars. Therefore, it is possible that this set of residues is formed by rocks of different sizes, among which there are large lagoons.

However, the Mars Express probe will perform analysis with the data collected recently. They will measure the density variations of this intertidal moon. Thus, among other things, scientists will check the proportion of gaps inside the moon Phobos.

Image: Image: ESA/DLR/G. Neukum/FU Berlin