NASA's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured the best quality images yet seen of the Martian moon Phobos.
NASA\'s HiRISE camera on its Mars probe has captured stunning new images of Phobos, Mars\' largest moon. Credit: NASA
Showing a series of landscape features including grooves and craters, the HiRISE cameras captured two high resolution images of the moon on March 23, one at a distance of 6,800km (4,225 miles) and another at 5,800km (3,603 miles).
"Phobos is of great interest because it may be rich in water ice and carbon-rich materials," said Alfred McEwen, HiRISE principal investigator at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, Tucson in a NASA news release.
The larger and most innermost of Mars' two moons, the images taken of the moon were less high resolution than previous shots taken by NASA probes but are better quality say experts.
"...the HiRISE images are higher quality, making the new data some of the best ever for Phobos," said Nathan Bridges, HiRISE team member at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "The new images will help constrain the origin and evolution of this moon."
One of the least reflective bodies in the solar system, scientists have speculated that Phobos is made of rock yet suspect that it may contain a substantial reservoir of ice. Heavily cratered, the tiny moon has dimensions of 27 × 21.6 × 18.8 km.
Russia has already announced its space programme has plans to send an unmanned spacecraft to Phobos to collect samples of soil and rock from the surface. The craft, named Phobos Grunt, is expected to be launched in October 2009.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is in the process of mapping Mars, looking for suitable landing sites for future missions. It is also studying Mars' weather, climate, geology and atmosphere reports the BBC.
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LexiApr 11th, 2008 - 11:35:07
Looks like writing on Phobos
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LexiApr 11th, 2008 - 11:35:07
Looks like writing on Phobos
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