Phobos program Phobos program The Phobos (, ) program was an unmanned space mission consisting of two probes launched by the Soviet Union to study Mars and its moons Phobos and Deimos. "Phobos 1" was launched on 7 July 1988, and "Phobos 2" on 12 July 1988, each aboard a Proton-K rocket. "Phobos 1" suffered a terminal failure en route to Mars. "Phobos 2" attained Mars orbit, but contact was lost before the final phase, prior to deployment of a planned Phobos lander. "Phobos 1" and "2" were of a new spacecraft design, succeeding the type used in the "Venera" planetary missions
Deimos and Phobos Interior Explorer Center (DLR) and a study team with representatives of the scientific community and the space industry. The mission would explore the origin and the evolution of the two Martian moons, and would also contribute to the general questions of planetary formation and the workings of the Solar System. The origin of the Martian moons is controversial. Phobos and Deimos both have much in common with carbonaceous C-type asteroids, with spectra, albedo, and density very similar to those of C- or D-type asteroids. Based on their similarity, one hypothesis is that both moons may be captured main-belt asteroids. Another hypothesis is