Search Publications
Development of a new Phobos spectral simulant: spectral properties from visible to the mid-infrared range
Barucci, M. A.; Fornasier, S.; Doressoundiram, A. +6 more
Phobos is the target of the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX), the next sample return mission of the Japanese space agency (JAXA). The mission will investigate the origin of Phobos and Deimos - the two martian moons, using a suite of dedicated instruments. Infrared analysis of the surface composition will be performed by the MIRS spectrometer onboar…
Total electron content depression in the nightside Martian ionosphere: statistical results from Mars Express MARSIS measurements and implications
Rong, Zhaojin; Li, Lei; Wei, Yong +7 more
Thermal electron depression and energetic electron depletion are two well-known features of the nightside Martian ionosphere. While the latter has been extensively studied in the past, there is no report of systematic and firm identification of the former and hence the correlation between them is unknown. Applying an automatic procedure to the Mar…
Simulation of Phobos gravity field estimation from Tianwen-1 flybys and implications for the modelling of Phobos' internal structure
Liu, L.; Chen, Y. H.; Guo, X. +4 more
Doppler radio tracking data from Tianwen-1, China's first Mars mission, could contribute to a better estimate of the gravity field of Phobos. In this study, we show that a determination up to degree and order 3 is feasible by considering five additional flybys of Phobos by the Tianwen-1 spacecraft, in addition to the previous flybys already done b…
Phobos and Deimos surface composition: search for spectroscopic analogues
Barucci, M. A.; Fornasier, S.; Matsuoka, M. +6 more
Phobos and Deimos, the two satellites of Mars, were largely studied in the past using ground-based telescope and spacecraft data, although most of the data were obtained by opportunity observations performed by Mars dedicated orbiters. Despite the data available so far, the main composition of the two moons is not yet fully understood. The possibl…
The second-degree gravity coefficients of Phobos from two Mars Express flybys
Pätzold, M.; Hahn, M.; Andert, T. +6 more
Several close spacecraft flybys of Phobos have been performed over the past 40 yr in order to determine the gravity field of this tiny Martian moon. In this work, the second-degree coefficients of the gravity field of Phobos were derived from the radio tracking data of two combined Mars Express flybys (2010 and 2013), by applying a least squares r…
Assessment of Phobos gravity field determination from both near polar and near equatorial orbital flyby data
Andert, T.; Li, F.; Yan, J. G. +5 more
The C20 and C22 coefficients of the Phobos gravity field are key parameters to constrain the internal structure of the Martian moon, but reliable observed values of these parameters are still missing. In this paper, we demonstrate, through a combination of forward and inverse modelling of simulated Doppler spacecraft tracking…
Spectrophotometric investigation of Phobos with the Rosetta OSIRIS-NAC camera and implications for its collisional capture
Sierks, H.; Pajola, M.; Barbieri, C. +11 more
The Martian satellite Phobos has been observed on 2007 February 24 and 25, during the pre- and post-Mars closest approach (CA) of the ESA Rosetta spacecraft Mars swing-by. The goal of the observations was the determination of the surface composition of different areas of Phobos, in order to obtain new clues regarding its nature and origin. Near-ul…