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Mars Express heading for closest flyby of Phobos   This animation shows how the orbit of Mars Express has been influenced by the gravitational influence of Phobos during the spacecraft’s fly-bys of the moon in Summer 2008. Since the orbital deviation strictly depends on the mass and shape of the moon, scientists could use this very deviation to determine the mass of Phobos with unprecedented accuracy (1.072 x 1016 kg, or about one-billionth the mass of the Earth).  On 23 July 2008, the High Resolution Stereo Camera on board the ESA’s Mars Express took the highest-resolution full-disc image yet of the surface of the moon Phobos. The image data was acquired from a distance of 97 km with a spatial resolution of about 3.7 m/pixel in orbit 5851. These images have surpassed all previous images from other missions in continuous coverage of the illuminated surface at the highest spatial resolution of 3.7 m/pixel. This image is photometrically enhanced to bring out the features in the less illuminated part.  This is an impression of the completely deployed MARSIS experiment on board ESA's Mars Express orbiter. Its two 20-metre booms and the 7-metre booms are sprung out and locked into place.
The MARSIS experiment will map the Martian sub-surface structure to a depth of a few kilometres. The instrument's 40-metre long antenna booms will send low frequency radio waves towards the planet, which will be reflected from any surface they encounter. Release date: 2 March 2010 |