New Hypothesis on the Origin of Mars' Moons
TapTechNews May 26th news, scientists have been debating endlessly about the origin of the two small moons of Mars (the irregularly-shaped Phobos and Deimos). One theory suggests that they were formed from the debris after a huge object collided with Mars, just like the moon of the Earth; another theory holds that they were asteroids that were once passing by and were captured by Mars' gravity. There is also a view that they are the remnants of a larger and older Martian satellite that disintegrated.
However, a team of scientists from France and Germany has put forward a novel hypothesis: Phobos may have originated from a comet, which means that Deimos may also have come from the same celestial body.
They have published their research results in the preprint version of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Journal. Their research is based on the photos of Phobos taken by the Mars Express probe, a collaboration between the European Space Agency, NASA, and the Italian Space Agency, from 2004 to 2022.
By analyzing the details of the images and the data, the scientists found that the reflective properties and surface materials of Phobos (similar to porous gravel) are similar to those of comets whose orbits are strongly influenced by Jupiter. Based on these observations, they proposed that Phobos may not be a naturally formed satellite but a comet captured by Mars' gravity in the distant past. The scientists further speculated that Phobos and Deimos might have originated from the same comet and were later torn into two parts.
According to TapTechNews, in order to solve the mystery of the origin of the Martian moons, Japan plans to launch the Mars Moons eXploration (MMX) mission within this decade. This mission will launch a probe specifically dedicated to studying these two peculiarly shaped Martian moons. The probe will first orbit Phobos and conduct observational studies, then turn to Deimos and Mars. After that, it will attempt to land on the surface of Phobos, collect samples, and return to Earth.
The study of these samples is expected to reveal a large amount of information, such as chemical composition, and perhaps finally solve the mystery of the mysterious origin of Phobos and Deimos.