Martian moon Phobos may have formed by catastrophic blast
Tuesday, September 21, 2010 - 17:21
in Astronomy & Space
Scientists now have firm indications that the Martian satellite Phobos formed relatively near its current location via re-accretion of material blasted into Mars` orbit by some catastrophic event. Two independent approaches of compositional analyses of thermal infrared spectra, from ESA`s Mars Express and NASA`s Mars Global Surveyor missions, yield very similar conclusions. The re-accretion scenario is further strengthened by the measurements of Phobos` high porosity from the Mars Radio Science Experiment (MaRS) on board Mars Express. These results will be presented by Dr. Giuranna and Dr. Rosenblatt at the European Planetary Science Congress in Rome.