A cool Christmas eve present from Mars Express! (Did you notice the red text?)
This excellent image of Phobos was acquired 22 December and downlinked a few hours ago today. It shows Phobos from just 500 km, which may seem pretty close until you remember that Mars Express will make a screamingly closer flyby in just few days, on 29 December, passing the Mars moon just 45 km above its surface.
Phobos seen from 500 km on 22 December 2013 Credit: Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)
(We’ll post complete details on the flyby here in the blog.)
This image was acquired at 14:21 GMT on 22 December, downloaded earlier today, and shows Phobos with a resolution of about 6 m/pixel.
Looking for a challenge? Let us know where on Phobos you think this image is located (there’s a cool ‘map’ of Phobos over at UnmannedSpaceflight.com).
Big, BIG thanks to Thomas Roatsch and Ralf Jaumann on the HRSC team for fast work this Christmas eve!
UPDATE 6.01.2014
Big thanks and congratulations to JSch – it is Wendell crater!
Discussion: one comment
In the bottom left corner one can see the Wendell crater