ion propulsion

Dawn gets Big Science Boost at Best Vesta Mapping Altitude

March 7, 2012

Want to stay on top of all the space news? Follow @universetoday on Twitter NASA’s Dawn mission is getting a whopping boost in science observing time at the closest orbit around Asteroid Vesta as the probe passes the midway point of its 1 year long survey of the colossal space rock. And the team informs [...]

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Asteroid Vesta Floats in Space in High Resolution 3-D

February 6, 2012

The giant Asteroid Vesta literally floats in space in a new high resolution 3-D image of the battered bodies Eastern Hemisphere taken by NASA’s Dawn Asteroid Orbiter. Haul out your red-cyan 3-D anaglyph glasses and lets go whirling around Vesta and sledding down mountains to greet the alien Snowman! The sights are fabulous ! The [...]

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Does Water Ice Lurk Beneath the Poles of Vesta ?

January 26, 2012

The mysterious asteroid Vesta may well have more surprises in store. Despite past observations that Vesta would be nearly bone dry, newly published research indicates that about half of the giant asteroid is sufficiently cold and dark enough that water ice could theoretically exist below the battered surface. Scientists working at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight [...]

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Rainbow of Colors Reveal Asteroid Vesta as More Like a Planet

December 7, 2011

The giant Asteroid Vesta is among the most colorful bodies in our entire solar system and it appears to be much more like a terrestrial planet than a mere asteroid, say scientists deciphering stunning new images and measurements of Vesta received from NASA’s revolutionary Dawn spacecraft. The space probe only recently began circling about the [...]

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Vrooming over Vivid Vestan Vistas in Vibrant 3 D – Video

December 2, 2011

It’s time to put on your 3-D glasses and go soaring all over the giant asteroid Vesta – thanks to the superlative efforts of Dawn’s international science team. Now you can enjoy vivid ‘Vestan Vistas’ like you’ve never ever seen before in a vibrant 3 D video newly created by Dawn team member Ralf Jaumann, [...]

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