A close flyby of Deimos suggests it may not be a captured asteroid, as previously believed.
In January, the Hope probe performed an orbital maneuver to be able to make planet-wide observations of Mars at a greater distance. The change in orbit allowed the spacecraft to get up close with Deimos, performing a series of flybys that have now revealed some tantalizing new clues to the object.
Hope flew as close as 62 miles to Deimos, capturing a series of high-resolution images and the first observations of the moon in extreme and far ultraviolet light. These revealed that Deimos’ composition is not consistent with that of an asteroid but rather similar to the composition of Mars, which is largely covered in basalt. This suggests that Deimos may have formed following a large impact on Mars that separated a chunk of the planet and catapulted it into orbit.
The Hope probe launched in July 2020, reaching Mars in February 2021. The Emirati space venture marked the first interplanetary mission by an Arab country, signaling a new era for the United Arab Emirates’ space ambitions. The Mars mission was originally meant to last for two years but was recently extended for an additional year, orbiting Mars once every 55 hours.
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