How Does Mars’s Small Moon Phobos Cross the Sun’s Disk in Less Than a Minute?

A Swift Eclipse on Mars

In a fleeting astronomical sight, NASA’s Perseverance rover successfully captured the small moon Phobos crossing the solar disk from the surface of Mars in less than a full minute. Named after the Greek god of fear, the moon resembles a giant, irregularly shaped potato and has near-zero gravity. Despite its tiny size and inability to completely block sunlight, its transit offers a unique window into understanding the secrets of the solar system and the history of the Red Planet.

The MMX Mission and the Journey to Explore the Impossible

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and its international partners are preparing to uncover the secrets of Phobos through the ambitious MMX mission. Engineers face unprecedented engineering challenges: landing on a moon with gravity equal to just 1/1800th of Earth’s is much like trying to stop a floating balloon without having it flip over or bounce away. To this end, a complex spacecraft has been designed carrying the small exploration rover Idefix, which will land like a brave penguin on the lunar surface to study soil properties and dust grains with extreme precision.

Buried Secrets and Sample Collection

The mission’s ambition is not limited to landing, but goes beyond it to collect at least 10 grams of Phobos rock and soil using an advanced robotic arm and a nitrogen-based pneumatic system. What is exciting is that astronomers believe this moon may contain rock grains scattered from Mars by ancient meteorite impacts, potentially giving scientists a golden opportunity to bring the first Martian samples to Earth by 2031 and understand how rocky planets evolved and their habitable environments arose.

By: Hany Sallam

Source: spectrum.ieee.org

Published by Hany Sallam

Hany Sallam, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Scientific Magazine Ahram
An independent Arabic science magazine operating since 2008, dedicated to simplifying science, technology, space, natural phenomena and scientific stories for Arabic readers. The magazine includes sections such as “Zodiac Group” and “Stories and Tales”, alongside science topics that combine knowledge with a spirit of discovery. It operates independently and is not affiliated with Al-Ahram Press Foundation or any governmental body.