Exploration of the asteroid 4 Vesta

Research report (imported) 2013 - Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research

Authors
Nathues, Andreas; Christensen, Ulrich R.
Departments
Planeten und Kometen
Summary

The exploration of the conditions that have prevailed in the early Solar System is the goal of NASA’s Dawn mission [1], for which MPS provided two cameras (“Framing Cameras“) [2]. The Dawn mission explored the asteroid 4 Vesta from different orbits for a period of one year, and is now approaching asteroid 1 Ceres. The Vesta mission phase led to a series of discoveries as, for example, the proof of an iron core, the widespread occurrence of dark material on the otherwise bright surface, as well as a variety of distinctive surface structures that point to a turbulent past of Vesta.

For the full text, see the German version.

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