NASA’s Europa Clipper has taken a stunning photo during its journey to the outer solar system. The spacecraft snapped an impressive image of Mars along with its two tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos, all glowing in infrared light. This unique shot isn’t just beautiful; it’s a rare glimpse of these celestial bodies together, helping engineers fine-tune the spacecraft’s thermal camera as it flew by Mars.
On February 28, from about 560,000 miles away—more than twice the distance from Earth to the moon—the infrared camera captured 200 frames in just 20 minutes. These images were combined to show the heat signatures of Mars and its moons. In the photograph, Mars stands prominently in the center, while Deimos is a tiny dot in the upper left, and Phobos, its larger partner, is closer. To spot the dim moons, which are about 250 times fainter than Mars, engineers brightened the image.
In the resulting image, a dark patch near the top marks Mars’ frigid northern polar cap, where temperatures can drop to around -190 degrees Fahrenheit. A circular area shows Elysium Mons, one of Mars’ giant volcanoes. This marks a significant moment, as these moons are rarely seen together with Mars. The first recorded instance of both moons in one photo was captured by the Mars Express orbiter in 2009.
Phobos and Deimos are among the smallest known moons in the solar system. Phobos is roughly 14 miles wide and orbits Mars three times a day, while Deimos is about 7 to 8 miles across and takes about 30 hours for one orbit. Scientists are still puzzling over their origins. Some believe they might be captured asteroids, while others think they could be parts of Mars that were ejected during a massive collision.
The Europa Clipper’s thermal camera, which detected heat rather than visible light, is crucial for future missions. It will explore Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons believed to have a salty ocean beneath its icy surface—potentially containing the ingredients for life. The instrument, known as the Europa Thermal Emission Imaging System (E-Themis), will help identify areas where Europa’s ocean interacts with its crust, providing clues in the search for alien life.
Using Mars’ gravity for a maneuver known as a gravity assist in March helped set the spacecraft on its way to the outer solar system. This close encounter also allowed NASA to test its instruments and enjoy views of Mars. Notably, just a few days later, another spacecraft on the European Hera mission passed Mars for similar reasons, aiming to study an asteroid NASA had deliberately crashed into three years earlier.
The Europa Clipper launched in October 2024 and is expected to reach the Jupiter system in 2030, where it will perform nearly 50 flybys of Europa to gather detailed measurements of its surface and chemistry. If the data suggests that Europa may support life, NASA may plan a follow-up mission to probe deeper into that possibility.
For further exploration of Mars’ moons and their characteristics, check out the [European Space Agency](https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_Express/Pioneering_images_of_both_martian_moons). There’s a world of mystery waiting to be solved in our solar system!
