Phobos from Mars Express

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla

2010/03/15 10:30 CDT

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ESA has released the first image from Mars Express' recent close flybys of Phobos, posted below! For a little review on Phobos' geography and why Mars Express is uniquely suited to imaging it, check out this earlier blog post on some of the many images from Mars Express' archived data. In the two years since I wrote that post, many many more photos have hit the archive -- I need to update it! Also, don't forget you can print, cut, and assemble your own lumpy model of Phobos, thanks to Chuck Clark.

ESA / DLR / FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

Phobos closeup from Mars Express

Mars Express' High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) took this image of Phobos on March 7, 2010, HRSC Orbit 7915. This image has been processed to reveal more details in the darker areas. Its resolution is about 4.4 meters per pixel. North is to the left, with the north pole falling out of the frame; the view is onto Phobos' trailing and anti-Mars points. The Russian Phobos-Grunt sample return mission is planned to land in the smooth area just "above" (to the east) of the two overlapping craters near the bottom of this image.