This animation shows how the orbit of Mars Express has been influenced by the gravitational influence of Phobos during the spacecrafts fly-bys of the moon in Summer 2008. Since the orbital deviation strictly depends on the mass and shape of the moon, scientists could use this very deviation to determine the mass of Phobos with unprecedented accuracy (1.072 1016 kg, or about one billionth the mass of the Earth).
Credits: MaRS team/Observatoire Royal de Belgique
Link to this comment:
All Comments (0)