Editing Phobos (moon) (section)

=== Space elevator base ===
First discussed in fiction in 1956 by Fontenay,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32067/32067-h/32067-h.htm | title=The Project Gutenberg eBook of Atom Drive, by Charles Fontenay }}</ref> Phobos has been proposed as a future site for [[space elevator]] construction. This would involve a pair of space elevators: one extending 6,000&nbsp;km from the Mars-facing side to the edge of Mars' atmosphere, the other extending {{convert|6000|km|abbr=on}} from the other side and away from Mars. A spacecraft launching from Mars' surface to the lower space elevator would only need a delta-v of {{convert|0.52|km/s|abbr=on}}, as opposed to the over {{convert|3.6|km/s|abbr=on}} needed to launch to low Mars orbit. The spacecraft could be lifted up using electrical power and then released from the upper space elevator with a hyperbolic velocity of {{convert|2.6|km/s|abbr=on}}, enough to reach Earth and a significant fraction of the velocity needed to reach the [[asteroid belt]]. The space elevators could also work in reverse to help spacecraft enter the Martian system. The great mass of Phobos means that any forces from space elevator operation would have minimal effect on its orbit. Additionally, materials from Phobos could be used for space industry.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Weinstein |first1=Leonard M. |date=January 2003 |title=Space Colonization Using Space-Elevators from Phobos |url=https://space.nss.org/wp-content/uploads/2003-Space-Colonization-Using-Space-Elevators-From-Phobos.pdf |journal=AIP Conference Proceedings |language=en |volume=654 |pages=1227–1235 |bibcode=2003AIPC..654.1227W |doi=10.1063/1.1541423 |s2cid=1661518 |access-date=23 December 2022 |hdl=2060/20030065879}}</ref>