The spacecraft Phobos 1 and 2 were launched on 7 and 12 July 1988. The mission was to have three stages: investigations of the Sun and interplanetary space during the flight from Earth to Mars; studies of both Mars and Phobos during the orbit of the spacecraft around Mars; and studies of Phobos as the spacecraft approached to within 50 m of its surface. Contact with Phobos 1 was lost on 1 September 1988 and contact was also lost with Phobos 2 just before the third stage of the mission. This article introduces fourteen papers which cover the results of the second stage of the mission.
- R. Z. Sagdeev
- A. V. Zakharov
