Viewing geometry during the January 2011 flyby of Phobos
Date: 20 January 2011
Satellite: Mars Express
Depicts: Viewing geometry during Mars Express flyby of the moon, Phobos
Copyright: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)
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The High Resolution Stereo Camera on board ESA's Mars Express spacecraft acquired images of Phobos on 9 January 2011. This graphic shows the positions of Mars, Phobos and Mars Express at the time the image data was acquired. Since Mars Express flies in an elliptical orbit around the Red Planet, it regularly moves away from Mars and approaches Phobos, which orbits the planet at an altitude of roughly 6000 kilometres, about every five months.
Last Update: 1 September 2019