Infographic: 'Fake' flybys help solve Phobos mystery

Using a series of 'real' and 'fake' flybys, ESA's Mars Express has clarified a long-standing martian mystery: if and how Mars' largest moon, Phobos, reflects the solar wind.

This infographic shows three Mars Express flybys that occurred in July 2008, January 2016 and May 2017 – the former two being 'real' flybys completed in the vicinity of Phobos, and latter being a 'fake' flyby performed to clarify whether a particular signal detected by the spacecraft was a true detection of a process taking place on Phobos, or if it was due to reflection of particles from Mars Express itself.

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