Studying the origin of Mars’s moon Phobos
SEP 28, 2010
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.024696
Space.com : One of Mars’s two moons, Phobossmall (average radius of 11 km), lumpy, and potato shapedwas probably formed from rubble shot into space after a comet or meteorite struck the planet, a new study has found. The research was presented at the European Planetary Science Congress in Rome and has been submitted to the journal Planetary and Space Science . Researchers, using data from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express spacecraft, base their conclusion that the two bodies have a common origin on the fact that Phobos and Mars share common minerals and phyllosilicates, among other things.
© 2010 American Institute of Physics
