Phobos measures just This produces an orbit of short duration, revolving around the planet three times in a single day. It is even smaller, measuring just Its orbit places it much farther away from Mars, at a distance of 23, km, which means that Deimos takes When impacted, dust and debris will leave the surface of the moon because they do not have enough gravitational pull to retain the ejecta.
However, the gravity from Mars will keep a ring of this debris around the planet in approximately the same region that the moon orbits. As the moon revolves, the debris is redeposited as a dusty layer on its surface. Both are lumpy, heavily-cratered and covered in dust and loose rocks. They are among the darker objects in the solar system. The moons appear to be made of carbon-rich rock mixed with ice. Because it orbits Mars faster than the planet itself rotates, it is slowly spiraling inward.
As a result, scientists estimate that in the next million years or so, it will get so low that the Martian gravity will tear Phobos into a pile of rocks. And then a few million years later, those rocks will crash down on the surface of Mars in a spectacular string of impacts.
Phobos and Deimos both appear to be composed of C-type rock, similar to blackish carbonaceous chondrite asteroids. The dominant feature on Phobos, it found, was a crater six miles 10 kilometers wide—nearly half the width of the moon itself. It was given Angelina's maiden name: Stickney. Mars Moons. This page showcases our resources for those interested in learning more about Mars. Mars Resources. NASA scientists are calling for a framework that provides context for findings related to the search for life.
Are We Alone in the Universe? Catch Mars mania as an exhibit visits more than a dozen towns across the U. Two microphones aboard the six-wheeled spacecraft add a new dimension to the way scientists and engineers explore the Red Planet. However, the authors showed the gravitational pull of a massive inner moon can be so powerful, it "stirs up the debris in the outer disc and allows small outer moons to form".
They suggest a massive inner moon eventually succumbed to the tidal pull of Mars and fell back to the Red Planet, as did the majority of other outer moons that formed within the reaches of tidal forces. The authors said this scenario explains why Mars has two moons today, but also why Mars will have only one in the future — although the orbit of Deimos is stable, Phobos is being gradually pulled towards Mars.
Phobos could be the last straggler in a series of crashing moonlets, readying its final approach. Search Events Jobs Consulting. Victoria Woollaston-Webber is a freelance journalist, editor and founder of science-led health, beauty and grooming sites, mamabella and MBman.
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