North Polar Basin (Mars) suggest that a body approximately 0.02 Mars masses in size is capable of producing a sizable debris disk in Martian orbit, on the order of 5x10 kg, with a significant fraction of the material remaining close to Mars. This figure lies within the estimated mass range necessary to form the two moons, as other data suggests that only 1% of the mass of an accretion disk successfully forms moons. There are several other large impact basins on Mars that could have ejected enough debris to form the moons. Analysis of Mars Global Surveyor data found mineral deposits similar to terminal
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