NASA Shares First Images of Giant Asteroid Vesta's Surface
Posted on June 13, 2011
This video from NASA shows surface details beginning to resolve as NASA's Dawn spacecraft closes in on the giant asteroid Vesta. The images were obtained on Jne 1, 2011 by the framing camera aboard Dawn, from a distance of about 300,000 miles (483,000 kilometers).
Vesta is 330 miles (530 kilometers) in diameter and the second most massive object in the asteroid belt. The asteroid's basaltic surface formed due to volcanic processes early in our solar system's history. NASA says Vesta is considered a protoplanet because it is a large body that almost formed into a planet. You can see a large model of the Vesta asteroid here, which will give you a better idea of the asteroid Dawn is approaching.
The video below presents 20 frames, looped five times, that span a 30-minute period. The images were used by Dawn's navigators to fine-tune Dawn's trajectory during its approach to Vesta. Arrival is expected on July 16, 2011. Before orbiting Vesta on July 16, Dawn will slow down to about 75 mph. Take a look:
Video: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
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