Mars, named after the god of war, has satellites with the appropriate name: Deimos (in translation - "horror") and Phobos ("fear").Of particular interest is the first satellite of Mars, scientists are particularly interested in the 70-s of the last century.Suggestions put forward regarding the origin of the lump deserve, at least, a weighty book "a la Fiction").Judge for yourself ...
Space circles in the US and the former Soviet Union have suggested that Phobos, a satellite of Mars, is nothing like artificial object, space battle station, hovering over a dead red planet, as a terrible reminder of the once happened space war.
assumption was made after the first studies of Phobos at the same time, in the 70 American research unit under the name "Viking".In these photos did not pay attention to anybody.Please do not pay ... What interest could present lump component in diameter only 28 km?By the standards of gallakticheskim this satellite of Mars was only a thousandth of a grain of sand.But after more detailed study of open items, which caused surprise among scholars.Limit photographic resolution allowed to consider ... a chain of craters.Moreover, the chain stretched into two neat, straight lines.Astronomers attributed this first volcanic activity, citing the example of the moon.In satellites, according to their theory, the line of craters stretched parallel orbits of the planets.But Phobos assumptions refuted categorically, through its craters are located almost perpendicular to the flight path of the satellite.
One fantastic theory was replaced by another.First, we decide that the satellite is possible volcanic activity, but this seems unlikely: the size of Phobos negligible!Then it was the following assumption: the satellite was bombed by meteorites.But drawn by what power they fell so gently, forming rovnenkie chain?
moons of Mars, and attracted the attention of Joseph Shklovsky, a Soviet astrophysicist, decided to carry out the calculations of motion of Phobos.Too fast was this speed: a day - three full turns in orbit!The speed of rotation was much higher than the rate of Mars.The next assumption was no less fantastic: to maintain such a high speed Phobos was supposed to be ... hollow.Is it really was a space station?
Already at the turn of the 90s, this conjecture has been divided and Air Force Colonel Marina Popovich.To believe that Phobos - artificial satellite, she was forced to immediately classified data from the device "Phobos-2", belonging to the Soviet Union.See the data was extremely difficult - communication helped her husband Paul.
Now few people remember the launch of two spacecraft with identical names "Phobos-1" analog "Phobos-2".The first was not to fly to Mars because of the accident, while the second reached the goal, but to rendezvous with the satellite connection suddenly interrupted.However, some images have been able to obtain.One photo was published by the media and has become the common property.It was clearly visible elliptical shadow cast on the surface of Mars.There is an assumption that it was a very Phobos, a satellite of Mars.But the word "shadow" caused some experts skeptical smile, because the shadow was perfectly discernible through an infrared camera, which is in the unit.It was established to capture the availability of thermal facilities.But, by definition, a warm shade simply can not be.Then what was it?
But the second (secret) image was acquired just before the loss of communication.It was a picture of a giant cylindrical object hanging from the surface of Phobos.Dimensions were really inspiring: 1.5 km in diameter and 20 km long!Marina Popovich thought what the object was destroyed, "Phobos-2", to prevent the possibility of studying the satellite.It happened at the very moment when the machine was reset measuring devices on the surface of Phobos.
Another confirmation that someone persistently interferes with the study, it was in 1993. For some reason, on August 22 of that year, suddenly ceased broadcasting the other, the American apparatus "Mars Observer", which is in orbit of the planet Mars.The satellites have not been studied.
Gap over and last year's attempt to start the "Phobos-Grunt".
Perhaps in the research it was time to give up.But there is hope for a low-budget NASA's "Mars Global Surveyor" and "Mars Atfaynder" comprising detailed maps of Mars.However, to the study of Phobos they never started.What is it?Superstition?Or the United States has information that cause to refrain from research?
There are other versions of the origin of satellites: Phobos and Deimos could be the result of a cosmic catastrophe.Asteroids somehow fell into the orbit of Mars and remained in a gravitational field.Or maybe, Phobos is part of the Mars?But to take at least one of the latest versions, you must delete all previous versions of the data and ...
