NASA's scientists have reported that Phobos, the moon orbiting Mars, is nearing its destruction.
According to the scientists, this is due to the strong gravitational force exerted by the Red Planet on the natural satellite, Fox News reported.
For some time now, scientists believed that the deformations on Phobos' surface were caused by asteroid impacts. The biggest crack from a crater on the moon's surface spans about six miles wide. This is almost half the size of the moon since it only has a diameter of 13.5 miles.
However, upon closer inspection with the help of computer modeling techniques, scientists from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland discovered that these cracks were not formed due to the impact craters.
Instead, the scientists noted that these cracks are like stretch marks caused by the tidal forces from Mars' gravitational pull. One of the scientists, Terry Hurford, said that these marks could indicate that Phobos is breaking apart due to the gravitational stress it is experiencing.
"We think the grooves are signs that this body is starting to break apart tidally and that these are the first of the tidal deformations of Phobos," he told Discovery News.
The scientists noted that currently, Phobos is 5,800 miles away from Mars. However, due to the Red Planet's gravitational pull, the moon is orbiting closer to Mars by three to six feet per 100 years. This means that in 30 to 50 million years, Phobos will collide with Mars.
But, based on the rate of the moon's deformation, a collision between the two cosmic bodies might never happen.
"Eventually, Phobos will be ripped apart before it reaches Mars' surface," Hurford said.
The scientist noted that NASA's observations on the interaction between Phobos and its host planet could provide new insights regarding the effect of tidal forces. Aside from Mars and its moon, Neptune is also going through the same event since its satellite Triton is already showing fractures on its surface and is slowly orbiting closer to the planet.
"We can't image those distant planets to see what's going on, but this work can help us understand those systems, because any kind of planet falling into its host star could get torn apart in the same way," he said according to Universe Today.
Hurford and his team detailed their findings during a presentation at the American Astronomical Society's Planetary Sciences meeting held in Maryland.
