Keith’s note: According to NASA HQ PAO a movie compilation of Dawn approach imagery for Vesta will be released on Monday. The original plan had been to release this video on Friday but the delay in the launch of Aquarius pushed this back until next week. A plan is also being assembled whereby JPL releases one image per week until Dawn arrives at Vesta. This is a great start – […]

Keith’s 3 June note: Ever wonder why those Dawn approach images are so few and far between? After a series of frustrating emails with NASA HQ SMD PAO all I can get is “We may be able to release some time in June. Working with JPL to get an exact date.”. At least NASA HQ PAO responds. JPL PAO and project staff simply refuse to reply to formal requests/inquires. What […]

Dawn Opens its Eyes, Checks its Instruments “After a hibernation of about six months, the framing cameras on board NASA’s Dawn spacecraft have again ventured a look into the stars. The spacecraft also powered up its visible and infrared mapping spectrometer, which investigates surface mineralogy, and the gamma ray and neutron detector, which detects elemental composition. The reactivation prepares the instruments for the May approach and July arrival at Vesta, […]

A Look into Vesta’s Interior “Researchers from the University of North Dakota and from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany have discovered a new kind of asteroid using NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The mineralogical composition of 1999 TA10 suggests that unlike many other asteroids it did not originate from the outer rocky crust of its parent asteroid Vesta, but from deeper layers. […]