![]() Vesta Image from 5,200 kilometers Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA |
| See also full rotation movie of Vesta.
The Dawn spacecraft has completed imaging of Vesta from an altitude of 5,200 kilometers and has begun spiraling down to an altitude of 2,700 kilometers for the first series of scientific observations. Chris Russell, Dawn’s principal investigator at UCLA, notes:
Below are additional images of Vesta from the 24 July collection. |
![]() The “Snowman” on Vesta Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA |
![]() The Southern Hemisphere of Vesta with a multitude of craters Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA |

Book Review: Luna 9: The Mission Report
Back in 1966, Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon. Apogee Books has provided an English-language NASA translation of a detailed report originally released by the USSR Academy of Sciences.





