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

From: Jerry Flaherty <grf2_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:01:38 -0400
Message-ID: <810870672CC2442382BE7432E536BD05_at_ASUS>

Can someone explain the APPARENT layering in the Phobos pics??
Does this represent the rubble pile assemblage produced in he violence of
the asteroid belt OR "volcanic" processes in a much larger original parent
body?
Jerry Flaherty
--------------------------------------------------
From: "Ron Baalke" <baalke at zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 7:01 PM
To: "Meteorite Mailing List" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Subject: [meteorite-list] Mars Express: Phobos Flyby Images Released

>
> 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.
>
>
> ______________________________________________
> Visit the Archives at
> http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Received on Tue 16 Mar 2010 08:01:38 PM PDT