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
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