On December 6, 2016, the ExoMars Orbiter transmitted the first images of a Mars satellite called Phobos. The operation was carried out as part of the second stage of scientific and measuring testing of the equipment of the device, which arrived in the orbit of the Red Planet on October 19, 2016.
The first scientific measurements of the joint ESA-Roscosmos mission ExoMars Orbiter of dust were carried out last week between 20 and 28 November and they were associated with the surface of Mars itself. The survey was carried out on November 26 from a distance of 7700 km. Now, the instruments have made it possible to conduct a study of Phobos, a satellite of Mars, whose dimensions are 27 × 22 × 18 km, and the orbit height is only 6000 km.
“We are very pleased with the results of both scientific tests of the orbital probe and will use this data in calibrations to improve the accuracy of our measurements during the main scientific mission, which starts next year,” said Håkan Swedhem, an ESA scientist.
Sources: ESA
