Phobos is the innermost and larger of the two natural satellites of Mars,the other being Deimos. The two moons were discovered in 1877 by American astronomer Asaph Hall. Phobos is named after the Greek god of fear and panic,who is the son of Ares (Mars) and twin brother of Deimos.
The Discovery Program is a series of Solar System exploration missions funded by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) through its Planetary Missions Program Office. The cost of each mission is capped at a lower level than missions from NASA's New Frontiers or Flagship Programs. As a result,Discovery missions tend to be more focused on a specific scientific goal rather than serving a general purpose.
Charles Elachi is a Lebanese-American professor (emeritus) of electrical engineering and planetary science at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). From 2001 to 2016 he was the 8th director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and vice president of Caltech.
The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) was an American lunar science mission in NASA's Discovery Program which used high-quality gravitational field mapping of the Moon to determine its interior structure. The two small spacecraft GRAIL A (Ebb) and GRAIL B (Flow) were launched on 10 September 2011 aboard a single launch vehicle:the most-powerful configuration of a Delta II,the 7920H-10. GRAIL A separated from the rocket about nine minutes after launch,GRAIL B followed about eight minutes later. They arrived at their orbits around the Moon 25 hours apart. The first probe entered orbit on 31 December 2011 and the second followed on 1 January 2012. The two spacecraft impacted the Lunar surface on December 17,2012.
James F. Bell III is a professor of Astronomy at Arizona State University,specializing in the study of planetary geology,geochemistry and mineralogy using data obtained from telescopes and from various spacecraft missions. Bell's active research has involved the NASA Mars Pathfinder,Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR),Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR),2001 Mars Odyssey,Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter,Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter,and the Mars Science Laboratory missions. His book Postcards from Mars includes many images taken by the Mars rovers. Bell is currently an editor of the space science journal Icarus and president of The Planetary Society. He has served as the lead scientist in charge of the Panoramic camera (Pancam) color imaging system on Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a NASA robotic spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon in an eccentric polar mapping orbit. Data collected by LRO have been described as essential for planning NASA's future human and robotic missions to the Moon. Its detailed mapping program is identifying safe landing sites,locating potential resources on the Moon,characterizing the radiation environment,and demonstrating new technologies.
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is NASA's first,and oldest,space center. It is named after Robert H. Goddard,the father of modern rocketry. Throughout its history,the center has managed,developed,and operated many notable missions,including the Cosmic Background Explorer,the Hubble Space Telescope,the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS),the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter,and the Solar Dynamics Observatory.
W. James (Jim) Adams served as the Deputy Chief Technologist at NASA in the Office of the Chief Technologist (OCT) from 2012 until retiring from NASA in 2016. NASA's OCT is responsible for direct management of NASA's space technology programs and for coordination and tracking of all technology investments across the agency.
A permanently shadowed crater is a depression on a body in the Solar System within which lies a point that is always in darkness.
Aprille Joy Ericsson is an American aerospace engineer currently serving as the assistant secretary of defense for science and technology. Ericsson is the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Howard University and the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in engineering at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).
The Planetary Missions Program Office is a division of NASA headquartered at the Marshall Space Flight Center,formed by the agency's Science Mission Directorate (SMD). Succeeding the Discovery and New Frontiers Program Office,it was established in 2014 to manage the Discovery and New Frontiers programs of low and medium-cost missions by third-party institutions,and the Solar System Exploration program of NASA-led missions that focus on prioritized planetary science objectives. The Discovery and New Frontiers programs were established in 1992 and 2001 respectively,and have launched fourteen primary missions together,along with two missions launched under the administration of the Planetary Missions Program Office. The Solar System Exploration Program was established alongside the office,with three missions planned for launch under the new program.
Faith Vilas is an American planetary scientist and Director of the MMT Observatory in Arizona.
Roger Jay Phillips was an American geophysicist,planetary scientist,and professor emeritus at the Washington University in St. Louis. His research interests included the geophysical structure of planets,and the use of radar and gravity to investigate the surfaces and interiors of the planets.
Suzanne E. Smrekaris an American geophysicist and Deputy Principal Investigator for the Mars InSight lander and the principal investigator for the planned VERITAS space probe to Venus.
Bethany List Ehlmann is an American geologist and a professor of Planetary Science at California Institute of Technology. A leading researcher in planetary geology,Ehlmann is also the President of The Planetary Society,Director of the Keck Institute for Space Studies,and a Research Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
David Y. Oh is an American spacecraft systems engineer and expert in electric propulsion. Dr. Oh currently works at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) as the NASA Psyche mission chief engineer. Prior to this role he served as the Project Systems Engineering Manager for Psyche. He was also the cross-cutting phase lead and lead flight director for the NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission and was recognized in popular media for living on Mars time with his family during the month following the landing of the Curiosity rover.
