New photos of Phobos, a moon orbiting Mars, suggests that it is breaking apart. Phobos is the closest moon orbiting its counterpart in our solar system. Every 100 years, Phobos' orbit around Mars decreases by about 2m due to Mars' gravity. The striations in Phobos' surface were once thought to be caused by an impact from an impact but new research suggest that the stretch marks were caused by gravitational forces from mars. The same research also reveals that some of the grooves are younger than others, fitting this newer model. Scientists predict that Phobos has 30-50 millions years before it completely disintegrates. If Phobos were to break apart while in orbit around mars, large debris would fall toward mars. An event like this should have a large impact on the already thin atmosphere of mars.
Source: http://www.space.com/31133-mars-moon-phobos-falling-apart.html
3 points. would have been 4 if you could physically explain why the orbital radius is decreasing with time.
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