Phobos (moon) energy due to wind blowing dust off of its solar panels, took several short-exposure photographs of the night sky from the surface of Mars. Phobos and Deimos are both clearly visible in the photograph. The Soviet Union undertook the Phobos program with two probes, both launched successfully in July 1988. "Phobos 1" was accidentally shut down by an erroneous command from ground control issued in September 1988 and lost while the craft was still en route. "Phobos 2" arrived at the Mars system in January 1989 and, after transmitting a small amount of data and imagery but shortly before beginning
Phobos 1 into three phases. In stage one the probe would investigate the Sun and interplanetary space while traveling from the Earth to Mars. In stage two the probe would study Mars and Phobos while in orbit around Mars. During the final stage it would approach to within 50 meters of the Phobos surface while conducting several experiments. The Phobos probe carried several scientific experiments. It carried a radar transmitter, X-ray and alpha-backscatter spectrometers, camera, and a laser that could vaporize tiny spots so a reflector could analyze the vapor for atomic masses. The probe also carried a . The hopper would