Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Phobos poses for an extreme close-up

The Mars Express orbiter is going to make a pass by Phobos at only 67 km distance. Seems like there have been other recent barnstorming passes by Cassini on Enceladus and Mimas -- the spacecraft controllers are getting very good at getting close. Now, it wouldn't seem that a 40-mile separation is a close one, but at the speeds the satellite and the moon are going, it's a flash-by.

Here's some earlier shots of Phobos:





















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