Radiosounding in the planned mission to Phobos

The opportunities to study Phobos’ internal structure provided by radio methods are considered in this paper. The necessity of these studies is related to solution of the problem of the origin of the Martian moons. Radiosounding is one of the most efficient methods of analyzing the internal structur...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSolar system research Vol. 51; no. 5; pp. 386 - 399
Main Authors Zakharov, A. V., Eismont, N. A., Gotlib, V. M., Smirnov, V. M., Yushkova, O. V., Marchuk, V. N.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01.09.2017
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Astronomy
Astrophysics and Astroparticles
Astrophysics and Cosmology
Earth surface
Expeditions
Mars satellites
Moons
Observations and Techniques
Phobos
Physics
Physics and Astronomy
Planetology
Radio astronomy
Russian Space Program
Space
ballistic scenario
frequency range
radar
internal structure
radiosounding
Phobos
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Summary:The opportunities to study Phobos’ internal structure provided by radio methods are considered in this paper. The necessity of these studies is related to solution of the problem of the origin of the Martian moons. Radiosounding is one of the most efficient methods of analyzing the internal structure of small space objects and, in particular, that of Phobos. The new Boomerang project planned according to the Federal Space Program of Russia for 2016—2025 within the Expedition-M program aimed at the exploration of Phobos and delivery of soil samples from its surface to the Earth, as well as the specifics of a ballistic scenario of this expedition, provide a unique opportunity to carry out radioscopy of this space object to discover the internal structure Phobos and to solve the key problem of its origin. The model of Phobos’ internal structure, radiosounding ballistic conditions, analysis of optimum frequency range of sounding, and key parameters of the device required for the experiment are considered in this paper. The significance of proposed studies and opportunities for their implementation are discussed.
ISSN:0038-0946
1608-3423
DOI:10.1134/S0038094617050100