NASA's Odyssey Captures First Images Of Mars's 'Death Star' Phobos In Infrared

The Mars Odyssey orbiter has given us the first infrared images of Mars’s moon Phobos. Known as the ‘Death Star’ moon, the celestial body is of interest to astronomers as it can possibly be used as an outpost for astronauts for future missions to Mars.

The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THERMIS) camera on the Odyssey captured the unique temperature based image Sept. 29. The brightly coloured image, which can easily be mistaken for a psychedelic rock album cover, gives an in-depth view of the temperature fluctuations on the surface of the Martian moon.

The combination of visible wavelength and infrared data shows a highly color-coded surface of Phobos. The colorful image shows us not only the surface but also the small changes in temperatures providing a disco-ball like effect.

“Part of the observed face of Phobos was in pre-dawn darkness, part in morning daylight,” said THEMIS deputy principal investigator Victoria Hamilton of the Southwest Research Institute in a report by Space.com .

The areas heated up by sunshine from the previous day also contributed to the diversity in temperatures seen on the surface on the moon. In some areas, the pre-dawn heat had reached the minimum point.

The infrared view of Phobos during sunrise "provides information about how quickly the ground warms, which is related to the texture of the surface," NASA officials said in the report . "As barefoot beach walks can confirm, sand warms or cools quicker than rocks or pavement."

The sequence times of day and night can also be seen by reading the temperature swatches from left to right. NASA says that the image can help understand the rate of heating and cooling on the surface of the moon, which can in turn provide information about the moon's texture and composition.

Phobos is made of a material similar to Type I or II carbonaceous chondrites. This material, which is found in abundance in asteroids, has a rocky interior, lacks any smoothness and is often compared to space rubble.

Scientists have a rough idea about the composition of the surface. The report says that Phobos has one meter thick dust on its surface accumulated as a result of meteor collisions. The craters on the moon are evidence enough that the dust originated from these impacts.

The image appears small in size compared to Odyssey images of Mars because of the distance between the two. Odyssey is 250 miles from the surface of Mars, Phobos orbits about 3,700 miles above the planet, making the image appear smaller.

"We want to get observations under all types of lighting — fully daylit, a small crescent, during eclipse," Hamilton said. They hope that these ground breaking images can enhance our understanding of Mars and its surroundings. With recent global efforts aimed at colonizing the planet, any new information could add a new dimension or a challenge for any prospective mission. Every little bit of data will be crucial in putting a man on Mars.

The team hopes that understanding Phobos will help guide us better in this endeavor.