India’s Mangalyaan has captured some breathtaking videos on Mars. In the video shared by Andrea Luck on X (formerly Twitter) Phobos, one of the two moons of Mars can be seen. Phobos is the larger and closer of the two moons and has been a subject of interest for scientific study. India’s Mars Orbiter Mission which is the country’s first interplanetary mission has captured these stunning images that provide us with a glimpse of Mars.
ISRO launched Mangalyaan in November 2013 with an objective of exploring Mars’ surface, morphology, and mineralogy; studying the Martian atmosphere; testing interplanetary mission technologies and demonstrating India’s space capabilities. With the mission, the objective of developing the technologies required for interplanetary missions was achieved.
The Mars Orbit Mission successfully entered Mars’ orbit in September 2014 and provided valuable data about the Martian surface, atmosphere, and the presence of water molecules in the atmosphere. The mission bears significance as India joined that group of elite nations to reach Mars and became the first country to do so in the first attempt.
Phobos: Crucial window for insights on Mars
Phobos is the larger of the two moons on Mars the other being Deimos. Phobos is closer to the Mars surface and has been a subject of interest for scientific study and potential exploration. The space scientists are also interested in Phobos and are planning missions to conduct studies on the Moon. The unique composition and characteristics of Phobos could provide insights into the formation and evolution of Mars.
Russian Phobos-Grunt mission is one such mission which was launched in 2011 with the objective of collecting soil samples from Phobos and getting them back to planet Earth. The mission never left the Earth’s orbit due to technical snags and finally re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere to crash in 2012.
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Updated: 28 Aug 2023, 06:38 PM IST