Mars Express will be close to Phobos, Sunday (29/12) at high speed so it can not take a picture instantly. Instead the spacecraft will measure the gravity of Phobos and thus reveal the internal structure of the object langut.
Phobo is the only moon in the solar system that orbits its parent planet in a very close distance. Sangking nearby, Phobos only takes approximately seven hours to go around its parent planet.
The method is simple but effective
Stone giant Mars was closer to 1.8 meters every 100 years. This means that the orbit of Phobos would disappear within 50 million years, and the moon will crash into the parent planet. Mars will then be surrounded by a ring of dust and rock like gas planets in general in our solar system.
NASA's Curiosity Mars
Method of measuring the gravitational field of Phobos seem simple but effective. When Mars Express entered orbit Phobo, celestial bodies that gravity will slowly shift toward a vehicle and change the speed to fly a few centimeters per second.
Small changes that would then be sent in the form of numbers to the space control center in the earth. Based on these data scientists can measure the mass and density of Phobos. Previous Mars Express never came within 67 kilometers of Phobos,. March 2010. The findings reinforce the assumption that rides scientists, that Phobos Asteroid more resembles the interior structure of the nearly one-third empty.
Revealing the secret of Phobos
Phobos is believed to keep secret the formation of other celestial bodies orbiting Mars, Deimos. The moon circling the red planet in the distance three times farther than Phobos. "With this maneuver, we can step forward to explain the origin of this mysterious moon," said Olivier Witasse, one of the scientists who work for the ESA Mars Express.
The origin of the two moons around Mars is still a matter of debate among scientists. Most believe, Phobos and Deimos are formed from the remnants of cosmic dust that is created in a collision between Mars with other celestial bodies.
While the theory of the second month of the second call is trapped asteroids and Mars gravity field since it was orbiting the red planet. "We did some routine maneuvers every few months to correct the trajectory Express. Now we are ready to make highly accurate measurements on Phobos," added Olivier.
