Mars may kill moon

Mars from space

Mars and its moon Phobos are super close - physically, at least. Phobos is just 3700 miles from the surface of Mars, over 60 times closer than we are to our own moon. But the emotional bond between Mars and Phobos is probably a little rocky, according to some new findings.

On Wednesday, researchers at the Meeting of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society presented research that suggests a serious downside to Mars's helicopter parenting.

"We think that Phobos has already started to fail," said Terry Hurford of Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Centre,, one of the scientists who lead the research.

The gravitational pull between Mars and Phobos has already left the moon with scars, according to Hurford and his colleagues, and in 30 to 50 million years this planetary tug of war could end with Phobos crumbling up and colliding with its host planet.

Hurford and his colleagues were looking for an explanation for Phobos's deep, mysterious grooves. Some scientists argue the extent and regularity of the cracks just can't be explained by a collision with space debris.

Scientists are eager to learn more about whatever is causing Phobos' groovy surface. The martian moon is close enough that we could send a probe to take a closer look at it one day. If Mars is truly tearing its moon apart, the process could teach us what to expect from other disastrous couplings far off in the galaxy.

- Bloomberg