One of the elusive moons of Mars, Phobos, has been captured by a European probe in a new set of colored images, revealing the largest of the Martian moons.
Thanks to the European Space Agency's Trace Gas Orbiter, this new imagery was obtained by the probe which has been orbiting the Red Planet since mid-October. New views of Phobos was obtained when the TGO completed its second orbit of Mars.
The TGO is also part of the ESA's ExoMars mission. The probe flew over 4,784 miles above the surface of Phobos. Using the orbiter's CaSSIS (Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System) camera, the collected images used four color filters revealing the mineral composition of the Martian moon.
According to ESA's TGO CaSSIS camera team's principal investigator, Nick Thomas, there are already high-resolution photos of Phobos from other missions such as NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and ESA's Mars Express. However, this latest imagery tested data such as the camera's color calibration and internal timing.
During this mission, the TGO will collect measurements of rare gasses in Martian atmosphere such as methane, nitrogen dioxide, and acetylene which are less than one percent of the atmosphere's volume.
Mission scientists are particularly interested in methane since it also indicates biological signatures on Earth based on hydrothermal activity. Apart from this, ExoMars aims to detect hidden water or ice under the surface of the Red Planet by capturing high-resolution imagery.
The TGO will relay data from future rovers on the surface of Mars. The second phase of the ExoMars mission will see a Martian rover deployed by 2020.