NASA's Dawn spacecraft obtained this image of the giant asteroid Vesta with its framing camera on July 9, 2011. It was taken from a distance of about 26,000 miles (41,000 kilometers) away from Vesta, which is also considered a protoplanet because it is a large body that almost became a planet. Each pixel in the image corresponds to roughly 2.4 miles (3.8 kilometers).
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has taken new imagery of asteroid Vesta. As the spacecraft approaches Vesta, surface details are coming into focus.
Starting late July 15, the ion-engine propelled spacecraft will spend about one year orbiting the asteroid.
Vesta is also known as a protoplanet because it is a large body that almost became a planet. Data collected at Vesta will help scientists understand the earliest chapter of our solar system’s history.
Once in orbit around Vesta, the Dawn probe will be maneuvered to a low-altitude mapping orbit, roughly 120 miles (200 kilometers) above the space rock’s surface.
Dawn launched in September 2007. Following a year at Vesta, the spacecraft will depart for its second destination, the dwarf planet Ceres, in July 2012.
Dawn’s mission is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science.
Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., designed and built the spacecraft. The German Aerospace Center, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the Italian Space Agency and the Italian National Astrophysical Institute are part of the mission team.
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By Leonard David