NASA's Perseverance Rover Captures Earth Disappearing Behind Martian Moon Phobos

• NASA's Perseverance rover captured the first-ever observation from the surface of another planet of Earth passing behind a moon.
• The event, known as an occultation, occurred on July 2, 2026, when the Martian moon Phobos moved in front of Earth.

The Event

• The sequence was captured by the Mastcam-Z instrument at approximately 7 p.m. local solar time on the 1,907th sol of the mission.
• In the captured imagery, Earth appears as a small, pixel-sized point of light moving across the sky while the potato-shaped, 17-mile-wide Phobos eclipses it.
• Scientists noted that while Phobos crosses the sky three times daily and Earth is visible for months, capturing one directly behind the other requires significant planning and favorable conditions.

Astronomical Definitions

• Occultation: When a larger-appearing body completely blocks a background object from the viewer's perspective.
• Eclipse: When one object enters the shadow of another.
• Transit: When a smaller-appearing object crosses the face of a larger-appearing one (e.g., Phobos crossing the Sun as seen from Mars).

Mission Context

• The Perseverance rover operates on the rim of the Jezero Crater as part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program.
• The mission's Mastcam-Z operations are led by Arizona State University in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems.