NASA / JPL - Caltech / ASU / SwRI
Europa Clipper Captures Mars, Phobos and Deimos (Photo Release)
NASA's Europa Clipper captured this infrared image of the heat radiation from Mars and its moons Phobos (closest to Mars) and Deimos (seen in upper left corner) on February 28, 2025, as the spacecraft approached the Red Planet while en route to the Jupiter system to investigate the icy moon Europa. The mission flew by Mars the next day, using the planet's gravity to help shape the spacecraft's trajectory.
When the image was taken by the mission's Europa Thermal Emission Imaging System (E-THEMIS), the spacecraft was about 560,000 miles (900,000 kilometers) from the Red Planet. The image is composed of 200 individual frames, part of a continuous scan of 1,100 frames taken roughly a second apart over a period of 20 minutes. Scientists are using the tiny, point-like images of the moons to check the camera's focus.
The image was captured using the middle of E-THEMIS's three long-wave infrared wavelength bands, which extend from about 14 to 28 micrometers. (A previously released E-THEMIS image of Mars used the shortest of the instrument's wavelength bands, extending from 7 to 14 micrometers and showing Mars in higher contrast.)
The dark oval near the top of Mars is the planet's cold northern polar cap and is about -190° Fahrenheit (-125° Celsius). The circular feature seen on Mars is the region around Elysium Mons.
The faint halo seen around the planet is due to the processing of the image. The two moons are about 250 times fainter than Mars, so scientists brightened the image (except for a region circling the planet) to make the moons more visible. The brightening also makes image noise more visible; the area surrounding Mars within the halo appears comparatively dark because it wasn't brightened.
Figure A (below) is an annotated version of the image with the moons labeled.
Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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FIGURE A: NASA / JPL - Caltech / ASU / SwRI
NASA / JPL - Caltech
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