Isro's Mangalyan sends images of Mars' biggest moon Phobos and its craters

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has released new pictures of the Martian moon captured by India's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM). The MOM captured Phobos, the closest and the biggest moon of Mars on July 1 using its on-board cameras. 

"The Mars Colour Camera (MCC) on board the Mars Orbiter Mission has imaged Phobos," Isro said in a statement. 

Unlike Earth, Mars has two moons -- Deimos and Phobos. The MOM was 7,200 km from Mars and at 4,200 km from Phobos when the image was shot, showing what appears to be a rocky surface. The image shows the Stickney crater, a large section gouged out from past collisions along with the Shklovsky, Roche, and Grildrig craters. 

Martian moon Phobos as captured by Mangalyan. (ISRO)

Over the years, the MOM, while orbiting the Mars, has captured some of the most stunning images of the red planet, including the water ice clouds, Bakhuysen crater, several terrains, and impact crater. 

The Mars Orbiter Mission is India's first interplanetary mission to Mars with a craft designed to orbit Mars on an elliptical plane. The Mission, primarily a technological mission, has been configured to carry out observation of physical features of the Mars and carry out a limited study of the Martian atmosphere using the Mars Colour Camera, Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer, and Methane Sensor, among other things. 

The MOM is exploring the Martian surface features, morphology, mineralogy and Martian atmosphere by indigenous scientific instruments. The mission, also known as Mangalyaan, was initially meant to last six months. But Isro had subsequently said it had enough fuel for it to last "many years". 

Isro had launched the spacecraft on a nine-month-long odyssey on an indigenous PSLV rocket from Sriharikota on November 5, 2013.