Mars rover camera astrometric observations of Phobos and Deimos while transiting the Sun

Description

This dataset contains derived positions of the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos based on images and videos of their solar transits taken by the Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity rovers. The astrometric measurements are intended to be used to constrain the orbits and orbital evolution of Phobos and Deimos. Curiosity observations achieve accuracies of 0.050-0.41 km for Phobos transits and 0.14-0.82 km for Deimos. Spirit and Opportunity observations have cross-track accuracies of 0.5-6 km, but few have practical along-track constraints due to clock uncertainty.

Steps to reproduce

All images used in the analysis are publicly available. Acquire images for each transit from the missions' archives in the Planetary Data System. Parse the geometric and temporal information in the image header and use ephemeris information to coordinate expected solar and lunar positions. Identify images with no transit in progress and model the movement of the Sun through the image set. Create a model of the Phobos (Deimos) shadow using a public shape file. Fit the motion of the moon through the image set. Determine the time and geometry of the closest approach of the Sun and moon.

Institutions

• Space Science Institute

  Colorado, Boulder

Categories

Funders

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  Government of the United States of America

  District of Columbia, Washington

  Grant ID: 80NSSC25K7038

Licence