Moons of Mars Moons of Mars The two moons of Mars are Phobos and Deimos. Both were discovered by Asaph Hall in August 1877 and are named after the Greek mythological twin characters Phobos (panic/fear) and Deimos (terror/dread) who accompanied their father Ares, god of war, into battle. Ares was known as Mars to the Romans. Phobos orbits closer to Mars, with a semi-major axis of to Deimos' . The existence of the moons of Mars had been speculated about since the moons of Jupiter were discovered. It is known that when Galileo, as a hidden report about him having observed two bumps
Mars Exploration Program used toward a mission that is part of the Mars Sample Return program. As a result of the smaller budget for the MEP, NASA was forced to cancel the Mars Science Orbiter planned for 2016 that would have studied the climate of the planet. NASA does not have any missions for the future of the MEP, as a plan is still being developed that will encompass the next few decades. Mars Exploration Program The Mars Exploration Program (MEP) is a long-term effort to explore the planet Mars, funded and led by NASA. Formed in 1993, MEP has made use of