[meteorite-list] Dawn Captures Video of Asteroid Vesta Approach

From: Sterling K. Webb <sterling_k_webb_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2011 18:30:39 -0500
Message-ID: <E42CEC1882EE4477ACEE515AE2ABFA5C_at_ATARIENGINE2>

It will arrive at Vesta and insert itself in an initial
orbit on July 16, 2011. A few months will be spent
in regularizing the orbit and begin mapping, but
there will be lots of photo ops during that. Dawn will
remain at Vesta for one year, before taking off for
Ceres in July 2012, arriving at Ceres in Feb., 2015.

It's possible Dawn might go on to Pallas if enough
fuel remains, but I'm guessing Ceres will be more
than enough interesting that we won't want to leave.
Or Dawn could prove to have the Mars Rover "Spirit"!


Sterling K. Webb
-----------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Gilmer" <meteoritemike at gmail.com>
To: "Ron Baalke" <baalke at zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>
Cc: "Meteorite Mailing List" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2011 4:16 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Dawn Captures Video of Asteroid Vesta
Approach


> It's starting to get exciting now! How much longer before it finally
> arrives?
>
> Best regards,
>
> MikeG
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>
>
>
> On 6/13/11, Ron Baalke <baalke at zagami.jpl.nasa.gov> wrote:
>>
>>
>> June 13, 2011
>>
>> Dwayne Brown
>> Headquarters, Washington
>> 202-358-1726
>> dwayne.c.brown at nasa.gov
>>
>> Jia-Rui Cook
>> Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
>> 818-354-0850
>> jccook at jpl.nasa.gov
>>
>> RELEASE: 11-182
>>
>> NASA SPACECRAFT CAPTURES VIDEO OF ASTEROID APPROACH
>>
>> WASHINGTON -- Scientists working with NASA's Dawn spacecraft have
>> created a new video showing the giant asteroid Vesta as the
>> spacecraft approaches this unexplored world in the main asteroid
>> belt.
>>
>> The video loops 20 images obtained for navigation purposes on June 1.
>> The images show a dark feature near Vesta's equator moving from left
>> to right across the field of view as Vesta rotates. Images also show
>> Vesta's jagged, irregular shape, hinting at the enormous crater known
>> to exist at Vesta's south pole.
>>
>> To see the video, visit:
>>
>> http://www.nasa.gov/dawn
>>
>> The images were obtained by a framing camera during a 30-minute
>> period
>> and show about 30 degrees of a rotation. The pixel size in these
>> images is approaching the resolution of the best Hubble Space
>> Telescope images of Vesta.
>>
>> "Like strangers in a strange land, we're looking for familiar
>> landmarks," said Jian-Yang Li, a Dawn participating scientist from
>> the University of Maryland, College Park. "The shadowy spot is one of
>> those - it appears to match a feature, known as 'Feature B,' from
>> images of Vesta taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope."
>>
>> Before orbiting Vesta on July 16, Dawn will gently slow down to about
>> 75 mph (120 kph). NASA is expecting to release more images on a
>> weekly basis, with more frequent images available once the spacecraft
>> begins collecting science at Vesta.
>>
>> "Vesta is coming more and more into focus," said Andreas Nathues,
>> framing camera lead investigator, based at the Max Planck Institute
>> for Solar System Research, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany. "Dawn's
>> framing camera is working exactly as anticipated."
>>
>> The mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
>> Pasadena, Calif., for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in
>> Washington. Dawn is a project of the directorate's Discovery Program,
>> managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
>> UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital
>> Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., designed and built the Dawn
>> spacecraft. The framing cameras were developed and built under the
>> leadership of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in
>> Katlenburg-Lindau, Germay.
>>
>> The German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Planetary Research in
>> Berlin made significant contributions in coordination with the
>> Institute of Computer and Communication Network Engineering in
>> Braunschweig. The framing camera project is funded by the Max Planck
>> Society, DLR and NASA.
>>
>> The video from Dawn also will air Monday afternoon on NASA
>> Television's Video File. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules
>> and links to streaming video, visit:
>>
>> http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
>>
>> -end-
>>
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Received on Mon 13 Jun 2011 07:30:39 PM PDT