MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-485, 16 September 2003

In 1998, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft made four passes by the innermost of the two martian satellites, Phobos. The fourth pass, made just over 5 years ago on 12 September 1998, offered the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) the opportunity to acquire the highest resolution images of the moon, ever. This wonderful 5-year-old picture highlights the surface of Phobos. Several large boulders can be seen, including a very large one near the center that is about 85 meters (~280 feet) in diameter. Most of the boulders may have been ejected from the largest impact crater on Phobos, Stickney. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left/lower left.