What is the 'Space Potato' that NASA's Mars satellite discovered? Explained
NASA's HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter obtained a spectacular image of Phobos, Mars' moon known as the "space potato," recently. This moon, which is gradually approaching Mars, provides scientists with a unique opportunity for continued research before colliding with the planet in approximately 50 million years.
NASA recently released a stunning image on its Instagram page, displaying what they dubbed a "space potato." This intriguing image, however, is not of a potato but of Phobos, one of Mars' two natural moons. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been orbiting and studying Mars since 2006, captured the image with its High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera.
Phobos, named after the Greek god of fear, is approximately 157 times smaller than Earth's moon. It is one of Mars' two moons; the other is the much smaller Deimos, named for the Greek god of dread. Scientists believe that Phobos and Deimos were previously wandering boulders that Mars' gravitational pull grabbed and drew into its orbit. Recent examinations of Phobos' rough and reflective surface indicate that the moon may have formed in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and was once a comet.
Phobos and Deimos' orbits are unstable. Scientists believe that Deimos will drift away into space over tens of millions of years, while Phobos will either form a ring around Mars or crash onto the planet's surface. Phobos is moving closer to Mars by around 6 feet (1.8 meters) per year. Despite this slow approach, Phobos will either collide with Mars or destroy in around 50 million years.
This period allows scientists to continue studying and admiring Phobos, whose distinguishing characteristics include streaks of white ice and the huge Stickney Crater. This 6-mile (10-kilometer) crater is named after Chloe Angeline Stickney Hall, a mathematician and the wife of Asaph Hall, who discovered Mars' moons in 1877.
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