NASA Probe on Target for Asteroid Encounter Next Month

[ej510]

A NASA spacecraft is right on target for its year-long orbital encounter with the huge asteroid Vesta, which is set to begin next month.

NASA's Dawn probe is now just 96,000 miles (155,000 kilometers) from Vesta, the second-largest object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, NASA officials announced today (June 23). The spacecraft should enter into orbit around the 330-mile-wide (530 km) space rock on July 16.

Dawn will then spend a year studying Vesta from above, marking the first time any spacecraft has made an extended visit to a large asteroid. Dawn will begin making science observations in early August.

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The end of a long journey

Dawn has been chasing Vesta for nearly four years. Since its launch in September 2007, the spacecraft has logged about 1.7 billion miles (2.7 billion km), researchers said. Dawn is now halfway through its final approach to Vesta and has been snapping photos of the space rock with its navigation camera.

Artist's concept of NASA's Dawn spacecraft, which is closing in on the huge asteroid Vesta.



"Our destination is within sight, and this team is very excited that we're finally closing in on Vesta," said Robert Mase, Dawn project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.

[DainBramaged]

1. What happens when Vesta wakes up?