Ultimately, the researchers say an icy impactor with 70% to 90% water ice mantles can explain the pair of moons

How the Martian moons were formed?

The most recent scenario of formation of the Martian moons relies on a giant impact occurring at early Mars history and having also formed the so-called hemispheric crustal dichotomy. This scenario accounts for the current orbits of both moons unlike the scenario of capture of small size asteroids

Who discovered the Martian moon?

Asaph Hall (born Oct. 15, 1829, Goshen, Conn., U.S.—died Nov. 22, 1907, Annapolis, Md.) was an American astronomer who discovered the two moons of Mars, Deimos and Phobos, in 1877 and calculated their orbits

What is the new theory about the origin of Mars’s moons?

In a new study, scientists suggest an impact with a giant icy object could explain the sizes and orbits of Mars’s moons, Phobos and Deimos. Anrtist’s rendering shows the giant collision on Mars that might have led to the formation of its moons, Phobos and Deimos. New simulations suggest the impactor may have been icy

What is the most probable origin of the Martian moons?

It has been suggested that the two natural orbiting satellites of Mars — the larger inner moon, Phobos, and the smaller outer moon, Deimos — are captured asteroids

What is unusual about Mars’s moons?

Mars’ moons are among the smallest in the solar system. Phobos is a bit larger than Deimos, and orbits only 3,700 miles (6,000 kilometers) above the Martian surface. No known moon orbits closer to its planet. It whips around Mars three times a day, while the more distant Deimos takes 30 hours for each orbit

Why is one of Mars’s moons doomed?

Phobos is on a collision course with Mars. It’s nearing Mars at a rate of six feet (1.8 meters) every hundred years. At that rate, the moon will either crash into Mars in 50 million years or break up into a ring. The most prominent feature on Mars’ moon Phobos is Stickney crater

What is Deimos made of?

Deimos is composed of rock rich in carbonaceous material, much like C-type asteroids and carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. It is cratered, but the surface is noticeably smoother than that of Phobos, caused by the partial filling of craters with regolith

Why are Mars moons called fear and panic?

The two moons of Mars are Phobos and Deimos. They are irregular in shape. Both were discovered by American astronomer Asaph Hall in August 1877 and are named after the Greek mythological twin characters Phobos (fear and panic) and Deimos (terror and dread) who accompanied their father Ares into battle

there water on Phobos?

Phobos and Deimos appear to be carbonaceous, volatile-rich moons. Up~to 20% of these bodies may be loosely bound water; the total Phobos/Deimos water reservoir may be 10 grams

The Martian moons Phobos and Deimos are oddballs. While other Solar System moons are round, Mars’ moons are misshapen and lumpy like potatoes. They’re more like asteroids or other small bodies than moons. 

Because of their odd shapes and unusual compositions, scientists are still puzzling over their origins. 

Two main hypotheses attempt to explain Phobos and Deimos. One says they’re captured asteroids, and the other says they are debris from an ancient impactor that collided with Mars. Earth’s moon was likely formed by an ancient collision when a planetesimal slammed into Earth, so there’s precedent for the impact hypothesis. There’s also precedent for the captured object scenario because scientists think some other Solar System moons, like Neptune’s moon Triton, are captured objects.

In research presented at the 55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, three researchers proposed a different origin story for Phobos and Deimos. They suggest that an impactor is responsible for creating the moons, but the impactor was icy.

The research is titled “THE ICY ORIGINS OF THE MARTIAN MOONS.” The first author is Courteney Monchinski from the Earth-Life Science Institute at the Tokyo Institute of Technology

UNKNOWN ORIGIN

Phobos and Deimos are among the darkest objects in the solar system. Their spectral signatures don’t have clear features, so their surface composition isn’t known. However, they seem to be porous, either hollow or filled with frozen water. These characteristics, along with their battered, irregular shapes, have led some scientists to think that they could be captured asteroids

THE ORIGIN OF AN ICY IMPACTOR

Why was there a giant icy body on a collision course with Mars to begin with? Researchers think that such “wet” bodies could have formed in the outer rim of the solar system, beyond the orbit of Saturn or Neptune. Then, instabilities brought on by the giant planets could have flung some of these bodies into the inner solar system.

Rosenblatt also points out that early Mars likely had water on its surface, so Mars could have contributed some of its native water, too, requiring a less-icy body

Mars moon Phobos

Phobos is the larger of the two moons of Mars. It orbits the planet three times a day, and is so close to the surface that it can’t always be seen from some locations on Mars

Here are some other facts about Phobos:

• Discovery: Asaph Hall discovered Phobos on August 17, 1877. 
• Size: Phobos is 17 x 14 x 11 miles (27 by 22 by 18 kilometers) in diameter. 
• Composition: Phobos is one of the least reflective bodies in the Solar System, with an albedo of about 0.071. It has carbon-rich material found in carbonaceous chondrites, and its composition shows similarities to that of Mars’ surface. 
• Orbit: Phobos orbits in an almost circular equatorial orbit that’s 5,989 km above the planet’s surface. Its orbit is decaying by 1.8 cm per year, so it’s expected to crash into Mars or break up within 100 million years. 
• Appearance: Phobos is too light for gravity to make it spherical, so it has a lumpy appearance and is heavily cratered. 
• Craters: The largest feature on Phobos is Stickney crater, which is about 10 km in diameter. 

There are two theories about how Mars got its moons:

• Captured asteroids Mars’ orbit is close to the asteroid belt, so it’s been hit by many asteroids over time. Some of these asteroids may have been captured by Mars’ gravity and became Phobos and Deimos. 
• Rings around Mars A large impact on Mars may have sent material into space that formed rings around the planet. Over time, these rings may have coalesced into Phobos and Deimos

A third theory suggests that Phobos and Deimos are the only remaining moons from a giant impact on Mars billions of years ago

Mars moon Deimos

Deimos is the smaller of Mars’ two moons, and is 9 by 7 by 6.8 miles (15 by 12 by 11 kilometers) in size. It orbits Mars every 30 hours, and is 23,460 kilometers (14,580 miles) from Mars. Deimos has a mean radius of 6.2 kilometers (3.9 miles), and is less irregular in shape than Phobos, the other moon of Mars. Deimos has a smooth surface except for the most recent impact craters, and is a dark, reddish object. The largest crater on Deimos is approximately 2.3 kilometers (1.4 miles) in diameter, which is 1/5 the size of the largest crater on Phobos. 

Deimos was discovered on August 11, 1877 by American astronomer Asaph Hall, who also discovered Phobos, its companion moon. He named Deimos after Deimos, the Ancient Greek god and personification of dread and terror, and the brother of Phobos. Deimos means “terror”, “panic”, or ” dread

What is special about Deimos

Here are some other things about Deimos:

• Composition Deimos is made of carbonaceous material-rich rock, similar to C-type asteroids and carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. It has a thick regolith, which is a highly porous material that has filled in some of its craters. 
• Orbit Deimos and Phobos have elongated shapes and look more like asteroids than moons. However, studies by the United Arab Emirates’ Hope spacecraft suggest that Deimos was formed from pieces of Mars ejected by giant impacts. 
• Movement Deimos is moving away from Mars. 
• Craters Deimos has two large impact craters named after the authors Jonathan Swift and Voltaire. Its craters are generally smaller than 1.6 miles (2.5 kilometers) in diameter, and it lacks the grooves and ridges seen on Phobos. 

Here are some other things about Phobos and Deimos:

• Origin The origin of Phobos and Deimos is still debated. Some theories suggest that they are asteroids captured by Mars. Others suggest that they formed when Mars collided with another large object, ejecting matter into its orbit. 
• Orbit Phobos and Deimos have near-circular orbits, which is unusual for asteroids. 
• Composition Phobos and Deimos are made of material similar to Type I or II carbonaceous chondrites, the substance that makes up asteroids. 
• Appearance Phobos and Deimos are lumpy, heavily-cratered, and covered in dust and loose rocks. They are among the darker objects in the solar system. 
• Size Phobos is the larger of the two moons, with a diameter of 14 miles (22 kilometers). Deimos has a diameter of 7.5 miles (12 kilometers). 
• Gravity Phobos has only 1/1,000th as much gravitational pull as Earth. 
• Craters Phobos has three major craters, including Stickney, which has a diameter of 10 kilometers. Deimos has a largest crater of approximately 2.3 km in diameter. 

Here are some other things about Phobos:

• Orbit: Phobos has the closest orbit to its primary than any other moon in the solar system. It orbits Mars three times a day, and is so close to the planet’s surface that in some locations on Mars it cannot always be seen. 
• Composition: Phobos does not have an atmosphere due to its low mass and low gravity. It is one of the least reflective bodies in the Solar System, with an albedo of about 0.071. 
• Features: Phobos has two particularly striking geologic features: the crater Stickney, and a network of long, narrow, linear structures called “grooves”. 
• Name: Phobos means fear, and is the brother of Deimos. 
• Discovery: Phobos was discovered on August 17, 1877 by Asaph Hall

Here are some other things that can be found on Phobos:

• Carbonaceous surface materials Phobos is a dark body that appears to be made of carbonaceous surface materials. It’s similar to C-type asteroids, but its density is too low to be pure rock. 
• Ice Phobos’s low density and porosity have led to the suggestion that it might contain a large reservoir of ice. 
• Molecular evidence of microorganisms JAXA believes that Phobos could be a satellite cemetery, containing molecular evidence of long-dead microorganisms. 
• Charged molecules Phobos’s orbit brings it through charged molecules of oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and argon that Mars has been shedding from its atmosphere for billions of years. Some of those ions might remain on Phobos’s surface. 
• Loosely bound water Up to 20% of Phobos and Deimos may be loosely bound water. The total Phobos/Deimos water reservoir may be 10 grams.

Yes, it’s possible to land on Phobos. Phobos’s low gravity makes landing on it relatively easy. For example, a rover dropped 40–100 meters onto the surface of Phobos would only experience the force of a 5 cm drop on Earth. 

Phobos is one of the two moons of Mars, the other being Deimos. It’s the larger of the two moons and orbits closer to Mars. Phobos has been proposed as an early target for a crewed mission to Mars because it would be less difficult and expensive to land on than the surface of Mars itself. 

However, Phobos has an atmosphere that lacks any life-supporting systems, making life on the moon nearly impossible. Phobos doesn’t have air or water, and its surface is constantly bathed in solar and galactic cosmic radiation

A lander instead bound for Phobos could be based on equipment designed for lunar and asteroid landings. Furthermore, due to Phobos’s very weak gravity, the delta-v required to land on Phobosand return is only 80% of that required for a trip to and from the surface of the Moon

No, it’s not possible to live on Phobos. Phobos is airless, has little gravity, and is constantly bathed in radiation. Some say it’s more like an asteroid than a moon

However, some say that Phobos’s low gravity could allow for cities to be built on rotors and bearings to provide artificial gravity. 

NASA has also begun research into living on Phobos

Deimos is another moon of Mars, and it’s possible that humans could colonize it in the future. However, like Phobos, Deimos is airless and has little gravity. Deimos is also smaller than Phobos, at 12.6 km in diameter, and it’s not spherical

Scientists don’t believe that any life could exist on either of Mars’ moons. However, scientists have discussed using one of the moons as a base for astronauts to observe Mars and launch robots to its surface

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