Phobos (mythology) of Cypselus on the shield of Agamemnon. American astronomer Asaph Hall named a satellite of the planet Mars, "Phobos", which he discovered along with the second Mars satellite, "Deimos", in 1877. Phobos is the larger of the two satellites. The word "phobia" derives from "phobos", (Φόβος), meaning fear. The two brothers Deimos and Phobos were particularly worshipped in the city state of "Sparta" as they were the sons of Ares, the god of war. Phobos in Greek literally means "fear" (). Spartan soldiers would idolize Phobos, because he symbolized discipline, and consistency of the armed forces. Because Phobos and Deimos
Mars sample-return mission gained from the "Hayabusa 2" and SLIM missions. Of the two moons, Phobos's orbit is closer to Mars and its surface may have adhered particles blasted from the red planet; thus the Phobos samples collected by MMX may contain material originating from Mars itself. Japan has also shown interest in participating in an international Mars sample-return mission. Since it is currently unknown whether life forms exist on Mars, the mission could potentially transfer viable organisms resulting in back contamination—the introduction of extraterrestrial organisms into Earth's biosphere. The scientific consensus is that the potential for large-scale effects, either through pathogenesis or