MAVEN spacecraft avoided collision with Phobos

MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and VolatileEvolutioN) studies Mars upper atmosphere for 2,5 years.  News about MAVEN rarely appear in media, and it doesn't capture stunning  Martian landscapes. Its main goal - studies of  martian climate evolution, it must answer question, how Mars lost its hydrosphere. There is a puzzle now: strict contradiction between visible traces of water erosion and last findings from Curiosity rover. MAVEN is located on elliptical orbit around Mars  150 x 6000 kilometers, and its orbit crosses orbit of Phobos - one of two Mars satellites, so Mission Control is always keeping an eye on possible collision. Last orbit calculations have shown that on March 7, MAVEN and Phobos (assumed to be sphere with 30 kilometers diameter) will pass the same checkpoint in space with only 7 seconds interval, which indicated at high possibility of collision. To avoid collision, on February 28, MAVEN performed unscheduled maneuver, increasing its velocity by 0,4 meter/sec. This increased time interval to safe 2m5 minutes.

Image: ESA Mars Express Phobos, orbiting Mars

This is not the last time when Phobos makes problem - it gradually approaches Mars and in the next 20 to 70 million years will be torn apart by Mars gravity. This will result in Mars rings creation, similar to Saturn's ring system.

Image: New Scientist 

It's possible that right now the process of forming Mars proto-rings is beginning. Indian scientists studied MAVEN data about dust in Mars orbit and found that Mars' moons may be, at least, partially, be responsible for these thin dust rings. But the ring, resulting from torn Phobos will be very impressive, while short-living: large pieces will fall on the surface, while small particles will go to the space.