Original Caption Released with Image:
This first image of asteroid 951 Gaspra was taken by the Galileo spacecraft on
October 29, 1991, from a distance of 16,200 kilometers (10,000 miles). The
Sun is shining from the right. The illuminated part of the asteroid is about 16
by 12 kilometers (10 by 7.5 miles). The surface shows many craters; two large
facets about 8 kilometers (5 miles) across appear on the limb of the asteroid at
top and bottom right. The smallest craters in this view are about 300 meters
(1,000 feet) across. Gaspra rotates in a counter-clockwise direction in just
over 7 hours; its north pole is near the upper left corner of the lighted part of
the asteroid. The Galileo project, whose primary mission is the exploration of
the Jupiter system in 1995-1997, is managed for NASA's Office of Space
Science and Applications by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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Galileo Solid State Imaging Team Leader: Dr. Michael J. S. Belton
The SSI Education and Public Outreach webpages were originally created and
managed by Matthew Fishburn and Elizabeth Alvarez with significant assistance
from Kelly Bender, Ross Beyer, Detrick Branston, Stephanie Lyons, Eileen Ryan,
and Nalin Samarasinha.
Last updated: September 17, 1999, by Matthew Fishburn
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