

But in recent years, a process has been developed to flip the spacecraft upside-down so it can point its camera at Phobos.Īmong the three new images, the one taken Dec. Led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Odyssey's mission is mostly dedicated to studying the Martian surface. Further study could help settle a debate over whether Phobos, which is about 16 miles (25 kilometers) across, is a captured asteroid or an ancient chunk of Mars that was blasted off the surface by an impact. The orbiter's infrared camera, the Thermal Emission Imaging System ( THEMIS), has been used to measure temperature variations across the surface of Phobos that provide insight into the composition and physical properties of the moon.

Taken this past winter and this spring, they capture the moon as it drifts into and out of Mars' shadow. Three new views of the Martian moon Phobos have been captured by NASA's Odyssey orbiter. Will the future bring answers to the questions that have been bothering true believers? When will we find confirmation to our suspicions?įuture missions to Mars should provide a wealth of information pertaining to this delicate subject and if history taught us anything, it’s that our conceptions, no matter how well established, are subject to change.Taken with the infrared camera on NASA's Odyssey orbiter, the images reveal temperature variations aboard the small moon as it drifts into and out of Mars' shadow. It seems like every week there’s a new out of place object being discovered in NASA photos sent back by the Curiosity Rover.įrom alien skulls and skeletons to remains of ancient towers and what looks like crashed UFOs, Mars is home to a plethora of things that shouldn’t be there.
#As devious as the stone face of mars watches phobos full#
The red planet is full of enigmas and most of them point towards the existence of an advanced Martian civilization in the distant past. “There’s a monolith there – a very unusual structure on this little potato-shaped object that goes around Mars once every seven hours.” We should visit the moons of Mars,” Aldrin said. This strange object brings many questions into one’s mind: who put it there and why? Does it serve any purpose?Īlien supporter and former astronaut Buzz Aldrin fanned the flame even further when he said the issue warrants an investigation. There is nothing like it on the entire moon. The available data indicates the rectangular object sits all by itself in a region devoid of other landmarks as if it were a testament to its own controversial nature. The monolith is definitely not the product of a camera malfunction since it casts a prominent shadow on the surface of Phobos. Photographic evidence shows the monolith appears as a bright object near Stickney crater. No matter the true nature of Phobos, the mystery surrounding the monolith remains a valid one. On the other hand, the monolith can be found in a barren, featureless region on the moon, so it might be more important than we suspect.Īstronomers combated Samuilovich’s theory with claims that the 14 mile-wide moon could be highly porous in nature and that is the reason it moves on such an unpredictable trajectory. If the entire moon was built, the monolith would only be a small component of the structure. If the odd satellite is indeed artificial in nature, the importance of the obelisk-like structure on its surface is dimmed a bit.

Their assumptions are primarily based on the calculations of Russian scientist Iosef Samuilovich, who theorized that the movements of Phobos were not consistent with what was expected from a celestial body of its shape and size. When people find out about that they are going to say, ‘Who put that there? Who put that there?”ĮT enthusiasts speculate Phobos could be a hollow, artificial body and by extension, they believe the monolith could also be alien in origin. Rectangular in shape and standing close to 300 feet tall, the so-called monolith has sparked a great deal of controversy since it was first discovered by the Mars Global Surveyor mission in 1998. NASA images show that Phobos, the smaller of the two has a peculiar structure on its surface. Most astronomers agree their shape is an indicator of their origin: asteroids caught up in Mars’ gravitational pull. The small satellites are irregular in shape and circle the planet in strange orbits. Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, named after the Greek mythological characters attributed to fear and dread.
