SB11

The two small Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos, are crucial targets to improve our understanding of planetary system formation and evolution. Their origin remains highly debated, with hypotheses ranging from their gravitational capture as primitive asteroids to their formation through a giant impact.

In the context of the upcoming Japanese led MMX mission, to be launched in autumn 2026, this session invites scientific presentations providing new findings with respect to Phobos and Deimos, or comparative studies with respect to other small bodies of the solar system currently visited by other space missions.
Contributions from various scientific disciplines are invited, including remote sensing, laboratory experiments, numerical modeling, and mission science, to investigate the physical and compositional properties of the Martian moons. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, spectroscopic observations, surface morphology, regolith properties, internal structure, orbital dynamics, and space weathering processes. A goal is to further understand the needs and requirements for upcoming observations and to discover interdisciplinary aspects of interest. Special attention will also be given to recently acquired datasets from spacecraft observations, as well as to new mission concepts and instrument developments designed to explore these two bodies. The session seeks to advance our understanding of Phobos and Deimos, providing new insights into their origin.