A spacecraft around Mars has captured the most-detailed photographs of the planet's little moon "Deimos". According to a report by the news agency Associated Press on Monday (April 24), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Amal spacecraft flew within 100 kilometres of Deimos on March 10. The photographs were released on Monday. This was the closest a spacecraft had been to Deimos in almost a half-century.

Amal also observed the little explored far side of the moon just (15 kilometres by 12 kilometres by 12 kilometres). Phobos, the other moon of Mars, is almost double that size. It orbits much closer to the planet- just 6,000 kilometres away, the closest of any planet’s moon in the solar system.

The report said that Deimos' orbit around Mars stretched 23,000 kilometres out. That’s close to the inner part of the spacecraft’s orbit — “which is what made observing Deimos such a compelling idea,” Hessa al-Matroushi, the mission's lead scientist, said.&nbsp;

Al-Matroushi and other scientists with the UAE's space agency said the new photographs indicated that Deimos was not an asteroid that got captured in Mars’ orbit eons ago- which had been the leading theory until now.&nbsp;

The scientists, instead, said the moon appeared to be of Martian origin, the Associated Press reported on Monday.&nbsp;

Amal rocketed to Mars on July 19, 2020. Al-Matroushi said the spacecraft would continue to sweep past Deimos this year, but not as closely as it was on March 10.&nbsp;

Previously, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Viking 2 came within 30 kilometres of Deimos in 1977. But since then, other spacecraft photographed the moon but from a much farther distance.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies) 
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A spacecraft around Mars has captured the most-detailed photographs of the planet's little moon "Deimos". According to a report by the news agency Associated Press on Monday (April 24), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Amal spacecraft flew within 100 kilometres of Deimos on March 10.

A spacecraft around Mars has captured the most-detailed photographs of the planet's little moon "Deimos". According to a report by the news agency Associated Press on Monday (April 24), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Amal spacecraft flew within 100 kilometres of Deimos on March 10. The photographs were released on Monday. This was the closest a spacecraft had been to Deimos in almost a half-century. Amal also observed the little explored far side of the moon just (15 kilometres by 12 kilometres by 12 kilometres). Phobos, the other moon of Mars, is almost double that size. It orbits much closer to the planet- just 6,000 kilometres away, the closest of any planet’s moon in the solar system. The report said that Deimos' orbit around Mars stretched 23,000 kilometres out. That’s close to the inner part of the spacecraft’s orbit — “which is what made observing Deimos such a compelling idea,” Hessa al-Matroushi, the mission's lead scientist, said. Al-Matroushi and other scientists with the UAE's space agency said the new photographs indicated that Deimos was not an asteroid that got captured in Mars’ orbit eons ago- which had been the leading theory until now. The scientists, instead, said the moon appeared to be of Martian origin, the Associated Press reported on Monday. Amal rocketed to Mars on July 19, 2020. Al-Matroushi said the spacecraft would continue to sweep past Deimos this year, but not as closely as it was on March 10. Previously, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Viking 2 came within 30 kilometres of Deimos in 1977. But since then, other spacecraft photographed the moon but from a much farther distance. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

UAE spacecraft captures most detailed photos of Mars' little moon

Mars&nbsp;has two&nbsp;''lumpy'' moons and their existence suggests that the red planet had rings&nbsp;around,&nbsp;like some of the larger planets in our solar system.

The findings were&nbsp;presented&nbsp;during the 236th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, which is being held virtually this week during the pandemic.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/nasa-seeking-volunteers-for-paid-isolation-during-fake-mars-mission-300990">NASA seeking volunteers for paid isolation during 'fake' Mars mission</a>

The two lumpy moons, Phobos and Deimos, were both discovered in 1877 and named after the sons of Ares from Greek mythology.

Mars is named after the Roman god of war, which is Ares in Greek. Phobos means fear or panic and Deimos means dread.

Scientists believed that they were asteroids captured by the planet's gravity for a very long time.&nbsp;Both appear to be&nbsp;similar in composition to blackish carbonaceous chondrite asteroids.&nbsp;

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However,&nbsp;the recent research revealed that the moons are nearly in the same plane as the Martian equator. This suggests that they formed around the same time Mars did around 4.5 billion years ago.

Over time, Phobos&nbsp;will lose&nbsp;height as it interacts with Martian gravity and eventually, its orbit will be too low and Mars will essentially rip it into pieces that form a ring around the planet. It's estimated that this will happen within 50 million years.

Phobos, slightly larger than Deimos, is only about 3,700 miles above the Martian surface, no known moon in our solar system is closer to its planet.&nbsp;

Being so close, Phobos completes three orbits around Mars in one Earth day, while Deimos, which is more distant, takes about 30 Earth hours to complete an orbit.

The researchers believe that Phobos once had a grandparent 3 billion years ago that they called proto-Phobos — likely 20 times more massive as the small moon is now. Over the course of a few moon-ring cycles, it became Phobos — which would explain why some researchers believe it only formed about 200 million years ago.

A prominent ring around Mars would have pushed proto-Phobos outward, away from the planet. This would have also affected proto-Phobos' orbital resonance with Deimos and pushed it further from Mars as well.

The Japanese space agency, JAXA, plans to send a spacecraft to Phobos in 2024 to collect samples from the surface and return them to Earth. This may reveal more about the moon's past.

Mars has two ''lumpy'' moons and their existence suggests that the red planet had rings around, like some of the larger planets in our solar system. The findings were presented during the 236th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, which is being held virtually this week during the pandemic.

Mars has two ''lumpy'' moons and their existence suggests that the red planet had rings around, like some of the larger planets in our solar system. The findings were presented during the 236th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, which is being held virtually this week during the pandemic. Also read: NASA seeking volunteers for paid isolation during 'fake' Mars mission The two lumpy moons, Phobos and Deimos, were both discovered in 1877 and named after the sons of Ares from Greek mythology. Mars is named after the Roman god of war, which is Ares in Greek. Phobos means fear or panic and Deimos means dread. Scientists believed that they were asteroids captured by the planet's gravity for a very long time. Both appear to be similar in composition to blackish carbonaceous chondrite asteroids. Also read: Indian-origin teenager names NASA’s first Mars helicopter However, the recent research revealed that the moons are nearly in the same plane as the Martian equator. This suggests that they formed around the same time Mars did around 4.5 billion years ago. Over time, Phobos will lose height as it interacts with Martian gravity and eventually, its orbit will be too low and Mars will essentially rip it into pieces that form a ring around the planet. It's estimated that this will happen within 50 million years. Phobos, slightly larger than Deimos, is only about 3,700 miles above the Martian surface, no known moon in our solar system is closer to its planet. Being so close, Phobos completes three orbits around Mars in one Earth day, while Deimos, which is more distant, takes about 30 Earth hours to complete an orbit. The researchers believe that Phobos once had a grandparent 3 billion years ago that they called proto-Phobos — likely 20 times more massive as the small moon is now. Over the course of a few moon-ring cycles, it became Phobos — which would explain why some researchers believe it only formed about 200 million years ago. A prominent ring around Mars would have pushed proto-Phobos outward, away from the planet. This would have also affected proto-Phobos' orbital resonance with Deimos and pushed it further from Mars as well. The Japanese space agency, JAXA, plans to send a spacecraft to Phobos in 2024 to collect samples from the surface and return them to Earth. This may reveal more about the moon's past.

Mars' 'lumpy' moons suggests existence of ring around it

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