During a flyby on March 7, the Mars Express spacecraft took new photos of Phobos, a potato-shaped moon that measures about 2o miles on its long axis.
Phobos is puzzling. According to data from fly-by spacecraft, its composition is similar to a type of asteroid called carbonaceous chondrite, but if it is a captured asteroid, then it is difficult to explain how it came into an equatorial orbit with only one side of the moon facing Mars at all times.
The Russian Federal Space Agency plans to put a lander on Phobos in 2011 to scoop up some soil and send it back to Earth for analysis.
New Photos Show Potential Landing Sites on Mars Moon
By SPACE.com Staff
In a late-night radio interview on Coast to Coast AM with George Noory, researcher Richard Hoagland discussed the possibility that Phobos is an artificial satellite that was bombarded with dust in the ancient past, leading to its present appearance.
Richard Hoagland
Coast to Coast
~~~
It's a Philip K. Dick World! “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.” —Philip K. Dick Government intrusion into our personal lives is increasing, the economy is shot and the media focus on hate and violence. Philip K. Dick's fifth and last wife, Tessa Dick, talks about her husband. I have my own books and stories, as well.
