NASA Perseverance Mars Rover Captures Solar Transit of Phobos Moon | JPL

NASA Perseverance Mars Rover Captures Solar Transit of Phobos Moon | JPL

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover used its Mastcam-Z camera to capture the silhouette of Phobos, one of the two Martian moons, as it passed in front of the Sun on Sept. 30, 2024, the 1,285th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. This 32-second video shows the transit in real-time.

Perseverance has captured several Phobos transits since its landing at Mars' Jezero Crater in February 2021. By comparing the various recordings, scientists can refine their understanding of the potato-shaped moon's orbit, learning how it is changing. Eons from now, Phobos' orbit is expected to eventually send the moon toward the Red Planet's surface.

Arizona State University leads the operations of the Mastcam-Z instrument, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, on the design, fabrication, testing, and operation of the cameras, and in collaboration with the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen on the design, fabrication, and testing of the calibration targets.

A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).

Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.

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Celebrating 3+ Years on Mars

Mission Name: Mars 2020

Rover Name: Perseverance

Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for return to Earth.

Launch: July 30, 2020    

Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars

For more about Perseverance: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/

For more information on NASA's Mars missions, visit: mars.nasa.gov

Video Credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Duration: 32 seconds

Release Date: Oct. 30, 2024

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