In just 15 years' time, the European Space Agency hopes humans will live in huge 'space oases' on Mars - luxury indoor ...

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The ability to observe such events provides valuable data about Phobos' orbit and its interactions with solar radiation, contributing to a deeper understanding of both the moon and Mars itself.

Deimos is even smaller. Because Phobos’ orbit is almost perfectly in line with the Martian equator and relatively close to the planet’s surface, transits of the moon occur on most days of the ...

For example, it’s been found that Phobos’ orbit is almost perfectly in line with Mars’ equator and relatively close to the planet’s surface, causing a fast orbit in which it loops around ...

But each time these eclipses are observed, scientists say they can measure subtle shifts in Phobos’ orbit as that fatal day approaches. While Spirit and Opportunity made the first observations ...

"Each time these eclipses are observed, they allow scientists to measure subtle shifts in Phobos’ orbit over time," NASA explained after a previous eclipse in 2022. "The moon’s tidal forces ...

On January 29, 1989, a Soviet space probe named Phobos 2 arrived in orbit around Mars. This was the last space mission launched by the Soviet Union. Its primary purpose was to study Mars' two ...

However, unlike the moon, Phobos' orbit around Mars is not stable: The tiny satellite is trapped in a death-spiral and is slowly falling towards the Martian surface at a rate of 6 feet (1.8 meters ...

Apart from its weird linear markings, another special thing about Phobos is its orbit, so close to Mars—only 6,000 km—that tides are causing it to spiral in at about 2 meters per 100 years.