Phobos, the larger of the two moons of Mars, sweeps above the Martian surface in this 2010 image from the Mars Express orbiter. A Russian probe, Phobos-Grunt, which is scheduled for launch in early November, is supposed to land on Phobos next year. [G. Neukum (FU Berlin) et al/DLR/ESA]
StarDate
Friday, November 4, 2011 
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Phobos Flop? [3]Russia's first Mars mission since 1996 may be doomed after the upper stage of its booster rocket failed to ignite, leaving the craft in Earth orbit. The mission, Phobos-Grunt, was launched November 8 (shown here). It is scheduled to land on the Martian moon Phobos and gather a bit of soil for return to Earth. Flight controllers are trying to solve the problem, but have only a few days before the craft's batteries fail. This is the second Russian Mars mission since the fall of the Soviet Union. The first, Mars 96, failed to reach Earth orbit. [German Aerospace Center]
One of the many mysteries about Mars is the origin of its two small moons, Phobos and Deimos. The leading idea says they’re captured asteroids. But some recent research suggests that Phobos could have formed as the result of a collision between Mars and another body.
Settling the issue is one of the goals of Phobos-Grunt, a Russian spacecraft that could launch this month. It’s the first Russian planetary mission in 15 years. The last mission — also to Mars — ended with a booster failure minutes after launch.
If this mission goes as expected, it’ll enter orbit around Mars next year. It’ll release a small Chinese satellite into orbit, then spend months studying Mars as it maneuvers toward Phobos, the larger of the planet’s moons.
Once it’s in position, it’ll gently lower itself to the surface of Phobos, which is only about 25 miles in diameter. A robotic arm will scoop up a few ounces of dust and pebbles, then a small rocket will send them back to Earth. The rest of the lander will then spend months studying the surface of Phobos. Among other things, it’ll analyze the chemistry of the dusty surface.
That experiment, along with analysis of the samples back on Earth, could tell planetary scientists whether Phobos is a child of Mars, or an orphan adopted by the Red Planet.
Mars itself rises in the wee hours of the morning and stands high in the sky at first light, quite near Regulus, the brightest star of Leo. Mars looks like a bright orange star.
Script by Damond Benningfield, Copyright 2011
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