NASA Rover Records Phobos Passing Across the Martian Sun

A small Martian moon briefly crossed the face of the Sun in view of NASA’s Perseverance rover, producing a new eclipse-like recording from the surface of Mars. The rover used its Mastcam-Z camera to capture the silhouette of Phobos on Aug. 12, 2026, during the mission’s 1,948th Martian day, or sol. NASA released the image and an animation on Aug. 24. The animation was tinted to approximate how the event might appear to a person standing on Mars and watching through protective solar eclipse glasses. It shows Phobos passing between the rover and the Sun, rather than completely covering the solar disk. Perseverance has documented several Phobos transits since landing at Jezero Crater in February 2021. By comparing recordings made at different times, scientists can improve their measurements of the moon’s orbit and track how that orbit is changing. Phobos is one of Mars’ two moons and has an irregular, potato-like shape. NASA says its orbit is expected, far in the future, to eventually carry it toward the Red Planet’s surface. The Mastcam-Z instrument is operated by Arizona State University. The university worked with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego on the cameras’ design, fabrication, testing, and operation, and with the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen on the design and testing of calibration targets. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and operates the Perseverance rover.