In 1877 the Astonomer Asaph Hall discovered the martian moons. He named the two moons Phobos and Deimos, Phobos and Deimos were named after the horses that pulled Ares' chariot, although some sources say that they were named the sons of Ares the Greek god of war (Mars is the Roman god of war). Phobos is Greek for fear and Deimos is Greek for panic. The origion of the moons is unknown but it is thought that they are capture asteroids from the asteroid belt situated between Mars and Jupiter.

Phobos is the larger of the moons and has a large crater on its surface. The crater is named Stickney after Asaphs wife and is 10km wide. Phobos travels at great speed and orbits Mars three times per martian day.

Deimos is the smaller of the two moons and is actually the smallest moon in the solar system. The largest crater to be found on Deimos is 2.3km wide and it has a generally smoother appearance compared to Phobos.

For more information about the moons visit

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/features/planets/mars/phobos.html for Phobos

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/features/planets/mars/deimos.html for Deimos