Dawn Spacecraft

New View From Dawn Spacecraft Shows Mountain On Vesta Three times Taller Than Mt. Everest

October 11, 2011
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mountain_on_vesta

A new image from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft shows a mountain three times as high as Mt. Everest, amidst the topography in the south polar region of the giant asteroid Vesta. The peak of Vesta’s south pole mountain, seen in the center of the image, rises about 13 miles (22 kilometers) above the average height of the surrounding terrain. Another impressive structure is a large scarp, a cliff with a steep slope, on the right side of this image. The scarp bounds part of the south polar depression, and the Dawn team’s scientists believe features around its base are probably...

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New Video: The Spacecraft Dawn Flies Around Asteroid Vesta

September 17, 2011
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NASA’s Dawn spacecraft obtained this image with its framing camera on Aug. 26, 2011. The detail in this image shows impacts of all sizes, grooves, scarps and smooth areas. This image was taken through the camera’s clear filter. The image has a resolution of about 260 meters per pixel.

A new video from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft takes us on a flyover above the surface of the giant asteroid Vesta. The data obtained by Dawn’s framing camera will help scientists determine the processes that formed Vesta’s striking features. It will also help Dawn mission fans all over the world visualize this mysterious world, which is the second most massive object in the main asteroid belt. You’ll notice in the video that Vesta is not entirely lit up. There is no light in the high northern latitudes because, like Earth, Vesta has seasons. Currently it is northern winter on Vesta,...

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NASA’S Dawn Spacecraft Enters Orbit Around Asteroid Vesta

July 18, 2011
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Enhanced Image of Vesta Captured by Dawn on July 9, 2011 NASA's Dawn spacecraft entered orbit around Vesta on July 16, 2011. Dawn obtained the raw image of Vesta with its framing camera on July 9, 2011 - which has been enhanced and annotated here. It was taken from a distance of about 26,000 miles (41,000 kilometers) away from the protoplanet Vesta. Each pixel in the image corresponds to roughly 2.4 miles (3.8 kilometers). A massive ancient cosmic collision blasted away Vesta’s south pole - exposing deep and alluring secrets.

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft on Saturday became the first probe ever to enter orbit around an object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Dawn will study the asteroid, named Vesta, for a year before departing for a second destination, a dwarf planet named Ceres, in July 2012. Observations will provide unprecedented data to help scientists understand the earliest chapter of our solar system. The data also will help pave the way for future human space missions. “Today, we celebrate an incredible exploration milestone as a spacecraft enters orbit around an object in the main asteroid belt for...

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NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft Approaches Asteroid Vesta

May 4, 2011
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Artist's concept of NASA's Dawn spacecraft, which is closing in on the huge asteroid Vesta. CREDIT: NASA/JPL

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has reached a new phase of its mission to Vesta, the second-largest asteroid in the solar system. The probe is now using cameras for the first time to aid its approach to Vesta, a massive asteroid that many astronomers classify as a protoplanet. If all goes well, the ion-propelled probe should enter orbit around Vesta on July 16,2011 to begin a year-long study of the mysterious space rock. “We feel a little like Columbus approaching the shores of the New World,” said Christopher Russell, Dawn principal investigator at UCLA, in a statement. “The Dawn team can’t...

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