ThePhobos monolith is a large rock on the surface ofMars' moonPhobos.[1] It is aboulder, about 85 m (279 ft) across and 90 m (300 ft) tall.[2][3] Amonolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive piece of rock. Monoliths also occur naturally on Earth, but it has been suggested that the Phobos monolith may be a piece ofimpactejecta. The monolith is a bright object nearStickney crater, described as a "building sized" boulder, which casts a prominent shadow.[4][5] It was discovered by Efrain Palermo, who did extensive surveys of Martian probe imagery, and later confirmed by Lan Fleming, an imaging sub-contractor at NASAJohnson Space Center.[6]
The general vicinity of the monolith is a proposed landing site byOptech and theMars Institute, for a robotic mission to Phobos known as PRIME (Phobos Reconnaissance and International Mars Exploration).[4] The PRIME mission would be composed of an orbiter and lander, and each would carry four instruments designed to study various aspects of Phobos' geology.[7] At present, PRIME has not been funded and does not have a projected launch date. Former astronautBuzz Aldrin has spoken about the Phobos monolith and his support for a mission to Phobos.[8]
The object appears inMars Global Surveyor images SP2-52603[9] and SP2-55103,[10] dated 1998. The object is unrelated toanother monolith located on the surface of Mars, which NASA noted as an example of a common surface feature in that region.[11]
The Phobos monolith features inAlastair Reynolds' 2012 science-fiction novelBlue Remembered Earth, wherein its surface has been entirely carved by visiting astronauts into the semblance of a wrecked spaceship.
The debutstudio album byThe Claypool Lennon Delirium, consisting of Americanmulti-instrumentalistsSean Lennon andPrimus'sLes Claypool, released on June 3, 2016, is calledMonolith of Phobos.[12]
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