NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has snatched close-ups of the red planet's moon Phobos. Using its High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, the space probe managed to take high-resolution photos which are the most detailed ever of the intriguing moon. The images were acquired on March 23 2008.

The most striking feature of Phobos is its Stickney crater, which is about 5.6 miles in diameter. NASA has produced 3D-images of the potato-shaped moon which show that whatever hit it at the site, almost cracked it apart. Grooves and crater chains are also present.

"Based on analogy with material on our own moon, [it] could mean that the material is fresher, or hasn't been exposed to space as long as the rest of Phobos' surface has," said Nathan Bridges, an MRO scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., to the Discovery Channel.

Phobos is of interest because some scientists suspect it harbors water ice and carbon-rich materials that may be of use for future Mars settlements. Discovered in 1877 by Asaph Hall, Phobos orbits six thousand miles above Mars' surface. Its name means in Greek "fear". Phobos' orbit around Mars is dipping by about 6 feet every 100 years, which means that in around 50 million years it will either crash into Mars or break up into one of the red planet's rings.

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) was launched August 12, 2005, and attained Martian orbit on March 10, 2006. The high-tech space probe cost more than $700 million and contains a host of scientific instruments such as cameras, spectrometers, and radar.