May 2012

Map of topography and gravity variations in the southern hemisphere of the giant asteroid Vesta (Image NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA)

NASA’s space probe Dawn has been sending information about the giant asteroid Vesta since reaching it in July 2011. The many thousands of images captured and various analyses carried out with Dawn’s instruments uncovered new secrets of Vesta such as the varied composition of its surface, the rapid changes in its temperature and clues about its internal structure.