Martian moon called Deimos resembles a potato
New research suggests that the Martian moon Deimos was reshaped by a single large asteroid impact, which created its distinct polar crater and dust layer. Scientists hope to confirm these findings through upcoming missions, including the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's MMX mission.
Why it matters
Understanding the formation of Martian moons provides critical insights into the history of the solar system and the evolution of planetary bodies.
Mars has two tiny moons that lack a confirmed origin story for how they came to orbit the red planet — but new research may explain some of the mysteries surrounding outermost satellite Deimos. Named for the son of the Greek god Ares, Deimos, which means dread in ancient Greek, is a small, lumpy rock shaped like a potato. Ares is also known as Mars in Roman mythology. The moon is about 14,913 miles (24,000 kilometres) from the Martian surface, and orbiters have observed it since the 1970s — including a recent flyby of the European Space Agency’s Hera mission in March 2025. Hera is en route to study the aftermath of NASA’s DART mission that intentionally crashed a spacecraft into a small moon orbiting a larger asteroid.
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