Lunar volcanic feature catalog for Dawn

Except for a number of low-resolution full-globe images obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope the surface of Vesta remains largely unknown. New image data from NASA’s Dawn mission that will arrive at asteroid Vesta in July 2011 for a 9 month systematic mapping phase to investigate Vesta’s geology [1]. This proposal of lunar analogues relies on medium to lowresolution image data from the Clementine and Lunar Orbiter missions as well as high-resolution image data obtained from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), Chandrayaan-1 and Kaguya camera experiments that are comparable to the expected Dawn instrument resolutions

Chronology and Cratering at Vesta: First Results from Dawn’s Survey Orbit

In early August 2011 the Dawn spacecraft enters its Survey Orbit about Vesta to start a one year long mapping mission utilizing four science experiments. We will present our methods and results of preliminary age determinations of some of the major surface units of Vesta based on imaging data of the Framing Camera Experiment

The Color of 4 Vesta and Lithology Diversity: First Results from Dawn Survey Orbit

The FC cameras onboard the Dawn spacecraft are expected to map the asteroid 4 Vesta in seven different colors from Survey Orbit in August 2011. We will present the first immediate results of the spectral mapping of the visible surface from FC images along with their association with surface compositional units. The first medium resolution observations of Vesta have been performed in July 201

The Surface Features of Vesta: First Results from Dawn’s Survey Orbit

As NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is performing its survey orbit of asteroid (4) Vesta, the framing camera on board ([1]) delivers high resolution images of the surface. We report here on the most prominent features observed and describe the physical characteristics and properties of the craters on the largest asteroid ever visited by a spacecraft. Understanding the geomorphological features observed is essential to characterize the evolution of the surface since its creation. Vesta shows a strong dichotomy between the northern and southern hemisphere. The southern hemisphere is characterized by a very complex morphology with the presence of many grooves, cliffs, and a topographic feature which appears to be the signature of a large impact. The northern hemisphere is saturated with craters and is more typical of an old planetary surface as observed on other celestial bodies, the lunar highlands for instance. Both hemispheres seem to be separated by a set of quasiequatorial grooves