French participation in the Soviet Phobos mission

Abstract The soviet mission to Phobos and Mars was launched in July 88. It carries some thirty experiments on board, designed on a broad international basis, devoted to studying the planet Mars and its viscinity, its natural satellite Phobos, the Sun and the Interplanetary Medium. France, through its laboratories participating in a number of experiments and the CNES Space Center at Toulouse in the Phobos spacecraft navigation operations, is the main partner of the Soviet Union in the Phobos mission. Different experiments on the spacecraft are discribed (ISM, AUGUSTE, IPHIR, PWS, LILAS and APEX, the active DION and LIMA-D experiments) as well as the French participation in the long-term automated lander: DAS (cameras, STENOPEE). The first scientific results are presented. The CNES contribution to the international cooperation for Phobos navigation are also described (methods and results).