Search Publications

Rotational motion of Phobos

Rosenblatt, P.; Le Maistre, S.; Rambaux, N. +1 more

Context. Phobos is in synchronous spin-orbit resonance around Mars, like our Moon around the Earth. As a consequence, the rotational period of Phobos is equal in average to its orbital period. The variations of its rotational motion are described by oscillations, called physical librations, which yield information of its interior structure. The la…

New astrometric observations of Deimos with the SRC on Mars Express

Oberst, J.; Matz, K. -D.; Hoffmann, H. +6 more

Between July 2005 and July 2011 Mars Express performed 50 Deimos approaches. 136 super resolution channel (SRC) images were acquired and used for astrometric (positional) measurements of the small Martian satellite. For this study, we have developed a new technique, in which the center-of-figure of the odd-shaped Deimos is determined by fitting th…