Settling In
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July 18, 2011 The Dawn spacecraft snapped this picture of Vesta on July 17, just one day after it entered orbit around the large asteroid. The image was taken from a distance of about 9,500 miles (15,000 km). Dawn will gradually move closer to Vesta, allowing it to map both its physical features and the composition of its surface layers. The spacecraft will orbit Vesta for one year before proceeding to Ceres, the largest asteroid. [NASA/JHUAPL]
