NASA's Dawn spacecraft spirals down to closest orbit around asteroíd Vesta

[quote]WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- NASA's Dawn spacecraft successfúlly maneuvered into its closest orbit around the giant asteroíd Vesta on Monday, beginning a new phase of science observations, the U.S. space agency announced.

The spacecraft is now circling Vesta at an altitude averaging about 130 miles (210 kilometers) in the phase of the míssion known as low altitude mapping orbit.

"Dawn has performed some complicated and beautiful choreography in order to reach this lowest orbit," said Marc Rayman, Dawn chief engineer and míssion manager based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "We are in an excellent position to learn much more about the secrets of Vesta's surface and interior."

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