Phobos Will Deflect Mars Express (VIDEO)

European Space Agency

Caption

This animation shows how the orbit of Mars Express has been influenced by the gravitational influence of Phobos during the spacecraft's flybys of the moon in summer 2008. Since the orbital deviation strictly depends on the mass and shape of the moon, scientists could use this very deviation to determine the mass of Phobos with unprecedented accuracy (1.072 1016 kg, or about one billionth the mass of the Earth).

Credit

MaRS team/Observatoire Royal de Belgique

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