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Geophysical Observations of Phobos Transits by InSight
Author(s) -
Stähler S. C.,
WidmerSchnidrig R.,
Scholz J.R.,
Driel M.,
Mittelholz A.,
Hurst K.,
Johnson C. L.,
Lemmon M. T.,
Logné P.,
Lorenz R. D.,
Müller N. T.,
Pou L.,
Spiga A.,
Banfield D.,
Ceylan S.,
Charalambous C.,
Clinton J.,
Giardini D.,
Nimmo F.,
Panning M.,
Zürn W.,
Banerdt W. B.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2020gl089099
Subject(s) - seismometer , geology , geophysics , regolith , magnetometer , transit (satellite) , mars exploration program , planet , solar system , astrobiology , astronomy , seismology , physics , magnetic field , public transport , quantum mechanics , political science , law
Since landing on Mars, the NASA InSight lander has witnessed eight Phobos and one Deimos transits. All transits could be observed by a drop in the solar array current and the surface temperature, but more surprisingly, for several ones, a clear signature was recorded with the seismic sensors and the magnetometer. We present a preliminary interpretation of the seismometer data as temperature‐induced local deformation of the ground, supported by terrestrial analog experiments and finite‐element modeling. The magnetic signature is most likely induced by changing currents from the solar arrays. While the observations are not fully understood yet, the recording of transit‐related phenomena with high sampling rate will allow more precise measurements of the transit times, thus providing additional constraints for the orbital parameters of Phobos. The response of the seismometer can potentially also be used to constrain the thermoelastic properties of the shallow regolith at the landing site.