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
Moons of Mars infrared suggest a composition containing mainly phyllosilicates, which are well known from the surface of Mars. The spectra are distinct from those of all classes of chondrite meteorites, again pointing away from an asteroidal origin. Both sets of findings support an origin of Phobos from material ejected by an impact on Mars that reaccreted in Martian orbit, similar to the prevailing theory for the origin of Earth's moon. The moons of Mars may have started with a huge collision with a protoplanet one third the mass of Mars that formed a ring around Mars. The inner part of the ring