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Science 24 March 1989:
Vol. 243. no. 4898, pp. 1584 - 1586
DOI: 10.1126/science.243.4898.1584
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Articles

Radar Detection of Phobos

S. J. OSTRO 1, R. F. JURGENS 1, D. K. YEOMANS 1, E. M. STANDISH 1, and W. GREINER 1

1 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109.

Radar echoes from the martian satellite Phobos provide information about that object's surface properties at scales near the 3.5-cm observing wavelength. Phobos appears less rough than the moon at centimeter-to-decimeter scales. The uppermost few decimeters of the satellite's regolith have a mean bulk density within 20% of 2.0 g cm-3. The radar signature of Phobos (albedo, polarization ratio, and echo spectral shape) differs from signatures measured for small, Earth-approaching objects, but resembles those of large (ge100-km), C-class, mainbelt asteroids.

Submitted on January 19, 1989
Accepted on February 24, 1989

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)