How did Mars get satellites?
NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology/Marin Space Science System/Texas A&M University
The mystery of where Mars' two moons came from may finally be solved. If Phobos and Deimos formed when an icy object crashed into Mars, it could explain their contradictory properties that have long puzzled researchers.
Measurements of the geological composition of Phobos and Deimos, including preliminary signs of water, suggest they are more asteroid-like than Mars itself, suggesting they may be captured asteroids doing. But that explanation does not explain their circular orbits, but rather suggests that…
Source: www.newscientist.com
