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Extreme Close-Up of Mars's Moon Phobos
coondoggie writes "The European Space Agency's Mars exploring satellite will make a number of close-up passes of the Martian moon Phobos. The Mars Express, which the agency launched in 2003, has begun a series of flybys of Phobos, the largest moon of Mars, that will ultimately set a new record for the closest pass to Phobos — skimming the surface at 50 km, or about 31 miles. This is only about 5 times the irregular moon's average radius. The data collected by the satellite could help solve some of the mysteries about the moon, beginning with that of its origin."
> When calculating the density, this gives a surprising figure because it
> seems that parts of Phobos may be hollow...
That is interesting, to say the least.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
The Soviet Phobos-2 mission returned some cool pictures before its computer failed. I especially like the ones with Mars in the background.