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'Amazing' photo taken of Mars moon Phobos

phobos-photo-taken-by-mars-orbiterImage source, CNSA/PEC
Image caption,

This is Phobos

Is it a bird? A plane? A potato? No it's Phobos, one of Mars's moons!

This new image was taken by China's Mars Orbiter, to mark its second anniversary since it jetted off to the planet in 2020.

Mars has two moons - Phobos which is the larger one and Deimos, the smaller.

Phobos which kind of looks like a big jacket potato, is around 17 miles wide at its largest.

It gets its nickname "potato" moon because of the marks left by craters and impact groves.

Did you know?

According to NASA a year on mars is the same as 687 days on Earth!

The photo was taken on a high resolution camera, but it wasn't a straightforward task.

The probe had it had to adjust its orientation, and find the exact moment the Phobos would be close enough and with good lighting, to take for an out of this world snap.

The image was released by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the Planetary Exploration of China (PEC).

It was launched on 23 July 2022 as part of the Tianwen 1 mission, which included a lander and a rover to explore the red planet's surface.

It has so far managed to complete its primary science goals, including mapping the entire surface of mars as well as taking a selfie from the red planet!

China's Mars Orbiter was launched in 2020 as part of the Tianwen-1 mission which included a lander and a rover to explore the red planet's surface.