2024-02-15 07:00:15
The Martian moon Phobos, “Fear” in Greek mythology, offered a rare spectacle captured by NASA’s Perseverance rover, from its observation post in the Jezero crater on Mars, on February 8. This celestial body, with a singular shape reminiscent of a potato, transited in front of the Sun, offering a solar eclipse.
Phobos, discovered in 1877 by the American astronomer Asaph Hall, is a satellite comparable in size to that of an asteroid, orbiting a few thousand kilometers above the Martian surface. It is moving closer to Mars, under the influence of the planet’s gravity, and could ultimately break up. The origin of Phobos, as well as that of Deimos, Mars’ other moon, remains mysterious. Scientists are still debating where they came from: asteroid belt, collisions, debris from the early solar system, or another scenario.
Japan’s Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) mission, scheduled for 2026, plans to send a spacecraft to study Phobos more closely and bring samples of its surface back to Earth. These samples could reveal valuable clues about the history of the formation of Phobos and the Martian atmosphere, thus enriching our knowledge of the Red Planet and its habitable conditions.
At the same time, the Perseverance mission contributes to the exploration of Mars by searching for signs of water and conditions suitable for life. A Mars sample return project, carried out jointly by NASA and the European Space Agency, is planned for the 2030s to analyze the rover’s samples. However, this program recently suffered a setback as JPL had to lay off some of its staff due to budget constraints.
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