ASTEROID GASPRA

Image 1: This picture of asteroid 951 Gaspra is a mosaic of two images taken by the Galileo spacecraft from a range of 5300 kilometers, some 10 minutes before closest approach on October 29, 1991. A striking feature of Gaspra's surface is the abundance of small craters. More than 600 craters, 100 to 500 meters in diameter, are visible here. The number of such small craters compared to larger ones is much greater for Gaspra than for previously studied bodies of comparable size (such as the satellites of Mars). Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Caltech More Information: Galileo home page Image 2: The view shows Gaspra in approximately true color; the surface is covered with rocks that are somewhat less gray than those on Earth's Moon. The subtle variations in color may be due to slight differences in rock composition or to differences in the texture of the surface layer. Gaspra is about 19 x 12 x 11 kilometers and irregular in shape. (1991) Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Caltech More Information: JPL home page