It’s been a big month for Perseverance. In addition to reaching Jezero Delta and breaking distance records, (per Space), it also captured the best ever recording of a solar eclipse from the surface of the red planet.
On April 2, 2022, Mars’s moon Phobos passed in front of the Sun, looking an awful lot like the slowly wandering eye of Sauron. In addition to just looking really cool, the observations can help scientists to better understand the gravitational relationship between Mars and its two moons, (per NASA).
Perseverance used its Mastcam-Z camera system which is intended to take panoramic and 3D images of the Martian environment while the rover makes its way along the surface. While NASA has captured several eclipses from the Martian surface in the past, going all the way back to Spirit and Opportunity, the Mastcam-Z provided full color, the highest zoom, and best frame rate to date.
As explained by NASA, Phobos is only about 17 miles across at its widest point and it moves pretty fast, orbiting Mars three times per day. As a result, the eclipse was relatively brief, lasting only about 40 seconds.
It’s good that we’re getting these images while we can. The gravitational relationship between Mars and Phobos is such that eventually, the moon will crash to the planet’s surface. Luckily, that won’t happen for tens of millions of years.
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