"Phobos” –Mars' Strange ‘Science-Fiction’ Moon May Hold Clues to Ancient Life

DailyGalaxy ^ | July 25, 2020 |

[BenLurkin]

A mysterious origin and Arthur C. Clarke-level science-fiction speculation about the 17-mile-wide, deeply-grooved moon as an alien artifact captured in the ancient past by Mars gravitational field, may explain Russia’s almost mystical obsession with Phobos. First the Soviet Union, then more recently, Russia, made three attempts to reach the enigmatic object, but software errors and launch disasters have aborted each attempt.

In 2016 the BBC reported that a mysterious monolith object was spotted several years ago by a NASA probe, and to this day nobody is quite sure what it is or how it got there.

Japan is on deck, planning launch its MMX mission to Phobos in 2024 for rock samples to decode the chemistry of the odd moon and decipher its origin as well as providing clues to the existence of life on ancient Mars...

“They’re super weird, confusing and interesting,” said Abigail Fraeman...{JPL] “They check all of the boxes that are consistent with them being these captured asteroids,” said Fraeman — “rubbly patchworks that drifted too close to Mars long ago and became trapped in the planet’s orbit. “They just shouldn’t exist,” added Fraeman. “They don’t make any sense.”

The debate over the origin of the two moons has split scientists for decades, since the early days of planetary science. In visible light, Phobos and Deimos look much darker than Mars, resembling the primitive asteroids of the outer solar system, suggesting the moons might be asteroids caught long ago in Mars’ gravitational pull. But the shapes and angles of the moons’ orbits do not fit the capture hypothesis, with some scientists suggesting the moons must have formed at the same time as Mars, or resulted from a massive impact on the planet during its formative millennia.

[SunkenCiv]

Heh... If memory serves, a now-deceased popular fake scientist suggested that at least one of Mars' moons was artificial. Phobos is slowly headed down, in 30 to 50 million years will either reach its Roche point and shatter, or will crash into the surface of Mars, ending the transplanted Earth civilization that will be there by then. My view is that Phobos should be mined out of existence, and depending on the constituent materials, used as building materials on Mars and for orbital stations throughout the Solar System.

---

join or quit view topics view or post blog bookmark post new topic subscribe

---

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

The Bemmies already built a base there. We just have to find it.

[SunkenCiv]

All are Bemmie bound.

[SunkenCiv]

• Boundary Trilogy Ryk E. Spoor, Author, Gamer, Geek God

[epluribus_2]

look on youtube for MARS in 4K HD

It’s a tour of alien landscapes sewing together 1000+ photos at a time create a Holodeck/IMAX that no humans have ever seen in this detail (that we know of - Enoch may have seen it). If you are ever jonesing for a hike across the Montana of the inner planets you can zone out anytime, the bigger screen in a dark room the better. (not part of the production in any way except maybe motivation)

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I should have known better then to try to stump you.

Congratulations!

[SunkenCiv]

As long as I've got the search box in the corner, I'm golden. :^)