NASA reveals a detailed image of Phobos, Mars' fragile moon

NASA has published a detailed photograph of Phobos, the Martian moon on a collision course with Mars. As reported by the Live Science portal, due to its porous surface structure, scientists have described the largest Martian moon as a "cosmic potato."

The moon was photographed using the High Definition Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was launched from Earth on 12 August 2005 and reached Martian orbit on 10 March 2006. Now NASA has published the photo, calling the largest Martian moon a "cosmic potato".

Phobos, named after the Greek god of fear, is about 157 times smaller than Earth’s Moon. Its dimensions are approximately 27 kilometres by 23 kilometres by 18 kilometres. It orbits the planet three times a day, so close to its surface that it is not always visible in some places on Mars.

It is on a collision course, approaching the planet at a speed of 2 millimetres per year. Its surface is porous and bears traces of thousands of meteorite impacts.

It is one of the two natural satellites of the Red Planet, alongside the smaller Deimos, whose name comes from the Greek god of terror.

NASA scientists claim that the sister moons were wandering rocks in space captured into Mars’ orbit by the planet’s gravitational field.

According to them, the uneven surface of Phobos suggests that it was once a comet from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Scientists believe the orbits of both moons are very unstable. They predict that in tens of millions of years, Deimos will leave Martian orbit while Phobos will either break up as it approaches Mars’ surface or crash into it. According to NASA, however, it is unlikely that this event will occur within the next 50 million years.