Evolution of a synchronous planet-moon pair due to solar tides. Demise of the synchronous moon that initiated Mars' triaxiality. A possible link to tidalites in Vastitas Borealis and Gale Crater
The study models how solar tides affect a planet-moon pair, showing that tidal forces cause a synchronous moon to spiral inward and eventually destabilize its orbit, increasing Mars' spin rate. This process links the moon's destruction to the formation of tidal rhythmites in Martian sediments.