[meteorite-list] Mars Express: Phobos Flyby Images Released

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:01:56 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201003162301.o2GN1upD014488_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=46710

Phobos flyby images
European Space Agency
15 Mar 2010

Images from the recent flyby of Phobos, on 7 March 2010, are released
today. The images show Mars' rocky moon in exquisite detail, with a
resolution of just 4.4 metres per pixel. They show the proposed landing
sites for the forthcoming Phobos-Grunt mission.

(This article was originally posted on the ESA Space Science Portal
<http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMK17CKP6G_index_0.html>.)

ESA's Mars Express spacecraft orbits the Red Planet in a highly
elliptical, polar orbit that brings it close to Phobos every five
months. It is the only spacecraft currently in orbit around Mars whose
orbit reaches far enough from the planet to provide a close-up view of
Phobos.

Like our Moon, Phobos always shows the same side to the planet, so it is
only by flying outside the orbit that it becomes possible to observe the
far side. Mars Express did just this on 7, 10 and 13 March 2010. Mars
Express also collected data with other instruments.

Phobos is an irregular body measuring some 27 x 22 x 19 km. Its origin
is debated. It appears to share many surface characteristics with the
class of 'carbonaceous C-type' asteroids, which suggests it might have
been captured from this population. However, it is difficult to explain
either the capture mechanism or the subsequent evolution of the orbit
into the equatorial plane of Mars. An alternative hypothesis is that it
formed around Mars, and is therefore a remnant from the planetary
formation period.

In 2011 Russia will send a mission called Phobos-Grunt (meaning Phobos
Soil) to land on the martian moon, collect a soil sample and return it
to Earth for analysis.

For operational and landing safety reasons, the proposed landing sites
were selected on the far side of Phobos within the area 5??S-5??N,
230-235??E. This region was imaged by the HRSC high-resolution camera of
Mars Express during the July-August 2008 flybys of Phobos. But new HRSC
images showing the vicinity of the landing area under different
conditions, such as better illumination from the Sun, remain highly
valuable for mission planners.

It is expected that Earth-based ESA stations will take part in
controlling Phobos-Grunt, receiving telemetry and making trajectory
measurements, including implementation of very long-baseline
interferometry (VLBI). This cooperation is realized on the basis of the
agreement on collaboration of the Russian Federal Space Agency and ESA
in the framework of the 'Phobos-Grunt' and 'ExoMars' projects.

Mars Express will continue to encounter Phobos until the end of March,
when the moon will pass out of range. During the remaining flybys, HRSC
and other instruments will continue to collect data.

*More information*

Univ.-Prof. Dr. Gerhard Neukum
Freie Universitaet Berlin
Mobile: +49 171-7647177
Tel: +49 30 838 70579; +49 30 838 70575
Email: gneukumzedat.fu-berlin.de

Prof. Dr. Ralf Jaumann
German Aerospace Center
Phone: +49 30 67055-400
Fax: +49 30 67055-402
Email: ralf.jaumanndlr.de

Olivier Witasse, ESA Mars Express project scientist
ESTEC, The Netherlands
Email: owitasserssd.esa.int

Updates as the flybys take place will be posted on the Mars Express blog
(see link in right-hand menu).

*Note to editors*

The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) experiment on the ESA Mars
Express mission is led by the Principal Investigator (PI) Prof. Dr.
Gerhard Neukum, who also designed the camera. The science team of the
experiment consists of 45 Co-Investigators from 32 institutions and 10
nations. The camera was developed at the German Aerospace Center (DLR)
under the leadership of the PI and built in cooperation with industrial
partners (EADS Astrium, Lewicki Microelectronic GmbH and Jena-Optronik
GmbH). HRSC is operated by the DLR Institute of Planetary Research,
through ESA/ESOC. The science planning coordination between all
instruments is performed at ESA/ESAC. The systematic processing of the
HRSC image data is carried out at DLR. The scenes shown here were
processed by the PI group at the Institute for Geosciences of the Freie
Universitaet Berlin in cooperation with DLR, Institute of Planetary
Research, Berlin.
Received on Tue 16 Mar 2010 07:01:56 PM PDT