Phobos (moon) break up when it reaches approximately 2.1 Mars radii. When Phobos is eventually torn apart by tidal forces, a fraction of the debris will likely form a planetary ring around Mars, which may last from one million to one hundred million years. The origin of the Martian moons is still 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. Both moons have very circular orbits which lie
Small Solar System body Small Solar System body A small Solar System body (SSSB) is an object in the Solar System that is neither a planet, a dwarf planet, nor a natural satellite. The term was first defined in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) as follows: "All other objects, except satellites, orbiting the Sun shall be referred to collectively as 'Small Solar System Bodies' ". This encompasses all comets and all minor planets other than those that are dwarf planets. Thus SSSBs are: the classical asteroids, with the exception of the dwarf planet Ceres; the trojans; and the centaurs and trans-Neptunian objects,