NASA's Perseverance rover captured a partial solar eclipse as Mars' moon Phobos passed in front of the sun. During this event, Phobos cast shadows on both the sun and Mars, creating the appearance of a "winking" eye. This striking moment was recorded in a video shot on September 30.
The eclipse observed from Mars is relatively short compared to those seen from Earth, lasting only 30 seconds. Phobos is 157 times smaller in diameter than Earth's moon, which contributes to the brief duration of such eclipses.
Perseverance follows in the footsteps of previous Mars missions, Curiosity (2019) and Opportunity (2004), which also captured similar eclipse images. These observations help enhance our understanding of Phobos' orbital changes.
Phobos' fate is at stake, as it orbits Mars every 7.6 hours but gets 1.8 meters closer to the planet every century. If this continues, it will either crash into Mars or break apart to form a ring around the planet within the next 50 million years.
Questions about the origins of Mars' enigmatic moons, Phobos and Deimos, may be answered by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) planned MMX mission in 2026, which aims to land on Phobos, collect samples, and return them to Earth.
