Though generally thought to be quite dry, roughly half of the giant asteroid Vesta is expected to be so cold and to receive so little sunlight that water ice could have survived there for billions of years, according to the first published models of Vesta's average global temperatures and solar-illumination.

The Dawn spacecraft has sent back the first images of the giant asteroid Vesta from its low-altitude mapping orbit. The images, obtained by the framing camera, show the stippled and lumpy surface in detail never seen before, piquing the curiosity of scientists who are studying Vesta for clues about the solar system's early history.

New images from dec. 6 of the asteroid Vesta shows 2 large impact craters, which are dominated by material from Vesta's interior

Glide over the giant asteroid Vesta with NASA's Dawn spacecraft in a new 3-D video.