Dawn was the first unit, exploring the objects in the asteroid belt.
American and French scientists have shown that a significant part of the surface of Vesta, the largest in size and mass of the asteroid, covered with a thin layer of water ice. A study published in the journal Nature Communications.
The location of the smooth areas on the surface of Vesta is correlated with elevated concentrations of hydrogen in these zones. This circumstance, according to experts, suggests that a significant part of external celestial bodies is covered with water ice.
The conclusions experts have come, analyzing the information received in 2011-2012 space station Dawn (radar and neutron detector).
Dawn was the first station that entered the orbit of two celestial bodies (asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres) and the first unit, exploring the objects in the asteroid belt. Vesta is one of the largest asteroids in the belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The Dawn mission showed that the asteroid low in the water, and found it a mountain twice Everest.
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