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Astrobiology: Latest News


2004-11-12 | MISSIONS
Martian Moon Phobos in Detail

The European Space Agency's Mars Express mission has used its High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) to capture high resolution images of the martian moon Phobos. As Mars Express continues its mission, the satellite will continue to monitor Phobos. The moon is important to the Mars system and environment because astronomers believe that Phobos is in a "death spiral", slowly orbiting closer and closer to Mars. In the future, Phobos could be torn apart by Mars' gravity and become a ring around the planet, or impact with the surface of Mars itself.

Mars Express has returned valuable information for astrobiologists on Earth. In March, the mission imaged water ice, as well as carbon dioxide ice, at Mars' southern polar cap. Mars Express has also confirmed the presence of methane in the martian atmosphere. Although Martian methane may be volcanic in origin, methane in a planet's atmosphere has been identified by scientists as a potential indicator of life due to the fact that methane on Earth is produced by biological activity. Determining how to recognize the signatures of life on other worlds is an important goal of astrobiology research at NASA.


More on this story

Full text of original item from ESA, Nov 12, 2004

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The preceding news links are provided as a public service for interested users. The views and claims expressed in external internet sites are not necessarily those of NASA.

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