Mars’ biggest moon Phobos image captured by Isro’s MOM

ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission has captured the image of Phobos, the closest and biggest moon of Mars. This is a composite image generated from 6 MCC frames and has been colour corrected.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2020

Key-Points

Phobos is the closest and biggest moon of Mars.

Phobos is nearing Mars at a rate of six feet every hundred years; at that rate, it will either crash into Mars in 50 million years or break up into a ring.

Its most prominent feature is the 6-mile crater Stickney, its impact causing streak patterns across the moon’s surface. Stickney, the largest crater on Phobos along with the other craters are also seen in the image captured by ISRO’s MOM.

Phobos is largely believed to be made up of carbonaceous chondrites.

The Rs 450-crore MOM mission aims at studying the Martian surface and mineral composition as well as scan its atmosphere for methane (an indicator of life on Mars).

The Mars Orbiter has five scientific instruments – Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP), Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM), Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA), Mars Colour Camera (MCC) and Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (TIS).