Sunday, July 17, 2011

Dawn probe has date with asteroid

Unfortunately after the shuttle lands this will be the only space stuff we hear of.
not that it is not interesting or cool, it is just a step backwards for the space program.

BBC
The US space agency says its Dawn probe should now be in orbit around the asteroid Vesta.

The robotic satellite will be spending a year at the 530km-wide body before moving on to the "dwarf planet" Ceres.

New pictures on Dawn's approach to Vesta show the giant rock in unprecedented detail.

The asteroid looks like a punctured football, the result of a colossal collision sometime in its past that knocked off its south polar region.

Confirmation that Dawn is safely circling the rock should come on Sunday (GMT) when the probe is due to return data on its status.

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