From: Andrew Johnson
Date: 2011-08-02 21:15:08
Attachments : First link is to the mail which has good copies of the pictures (article below) www.dailymail.co.uk/… Phobos pictures on Hoagland’s site www.enterprisemissio… (Comparison at bottom) Snowman in space: Nasa’s Dawn probe sends home stunning close-up images of crater-covered Vesta asteroid Since entering orbit last month, Dawn has taken more than 500 images Vesta’s southern section is dominated by a giant crater The northern side is filled with older craters including three that scientists have dubbed ‘Snowman’ By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 11:58 AM on 2nd August 2011 Comments (13) Add to My Stories Share The first close-up images of the massive asteroid Vesta have revealed a northern hemisphere littered with craters – including a trio nicknamed ‘Snowman’ – and a smoother southern half. Running along the asteroid’s equator are deep grooves – a surprise to scientists who did not expect to see such features. Chief scientist Christopher Russell, of the University of California, Los Angeles, said last night: ‘We’re seeing quite a varied surface.’ Scroll down for video Rough terrain: A set of three craters – nicknamed ‘Snowman’ – are seen in this image of the northern hemisphere of Vesta taken by Nasa’s orbiting Dawn spacecraft from a distance of about 3,200miles The images were taken by Nasa’s Dawn spacecraft, which began orbiting the 330mile-wide rocky body last month and has now started to beam back incredible surface details that the team is only beginning to pore over. More… Life on Mars? No chance of colonising the Red Planet as it has been dry for billions of years, claims scientist The wreck files: Have scientists found a crashed flying saucer on the seabed? The Big Bang in pictures: Scientists produce computer images of particle explosions similar to the greatest ever galactic light show It is the first time that Vesta has been viewed up close. Until now, it has only been photographed from afar. Since entering orbit, Dawn has taken more than 500 images, while refining its path and inching ever closer to the surface to get a better view. The probe will officially start collecting science data next week once it is 1,700miles from the surface. It will get as close as 110miles while it orbits Vesta for a year. Up close: Dawn began orbiting the 330mile-wide rocky body last month and has now started to beam back incredible surface details An artist’s impression of the Dawn spacecraft orbiting Vesta Vesta’s southern section is dominated by a giant crater, the result of a collision eons ago that is believed to have pelted Earth with numerous meteorites, or broken off pieces of asteroids. The northern side is filled with older craters including three that scientists have dubbed ‘Snowman’. Vesta is ‘so rich in features’ that it will keep scientists busy for years, said Holger Sierks, of the Max Planck Society in Germany, who helped to operate the camera. Currently some 117million miles from Earth, Vesta is the second-largest resident of the asteroid belt, a zone between Mars and Jupiter filled with hundreds of thousands of space rocks orbiting the sun. The belt formed some 4.5billion years ago, around the same time and under similar conditions as Earth and the inner planets. It is thought that larger chunks such as Vesta could have merged into planets had they not been foiled by Jupiter’s gravity. Despite being denied planethood, asteroids are of interest to researchers because they date back to the early solar system. Powered by ion propulsion instead of conventional rocket fuel, Dawn slid around Vesta on July 15 after a 1.7billion-mile cruise. Most orbit insertions are tricky because a speeding craft has to slow down or risk overshooting its target. Since Dawn has been travelling slow relative to Vesta, the orbit capture was a ho-hum event. ‘It wasn’t dramatic, but it is exciting,’ said chief engineer Marc Rayman, of Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Launched in 2007, Dawn is the first mission to explore Vesta and Ceres, the two largest members of the asteroid belt. It is also the largest interplanetary probe launched by Nasa, measuring 64ft tip-to-tip with its solar panels unfurled. Unprecedented: It is the first time that Vesta has been viewed up close. Until now, it has only been photographed from afar Though the $466million project was conceived long before the U.S. decided to send astronauts to an asteroid by 2025, the data gathered by Dawn should help future manned missions. After a year, Dawn will move on to Ceres, where it will arrive in 2015. Unlike dry and rocky Vesta, Ceres is icy and may have frost-covered poles. Due to the possible presence of frozen water, Dawn will not be able to venture as close to Ceres’ surface for fear of contaminating the asteroid. The team does not plan to post raw images online as other Nasa missions have done. Instead, there will be just one picture released daily. Press conference (from left): Colleen Hartman, Nasa Washington; Christopher Russell, UCLA; Marc Rayman, Dawn chief engineer and mission manager; Holger Sierks, framing camera team, Max Planck Society; Enrico Flamini, chief scientist, Italian Space Agency Youtube video animation: www.youtube.com/watc… Phobos Vesta:
