NASA's Dawn spacecraft launched in 1997 is now approaching Vesta, a small protoplanet in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter - a destination that is 143 million miles from Earth.
Dawn will arrive at Vesta in July. Beginning in September, the spacecraft will orbit Vesta some 400 miles from its surface. It will then move closer, to about 125 miles from the surface, starting in November. By January of 2012, it is expected to show high-resolution images and other data about surface composition. Dawn's cameras should be able to see individual lava flows and craters tens of feet across on Vesta's surface.
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