Gaspra - Galileo Date: 10.29.1991 The Galileo spacecraft captured this view of asteroid 951 Gaspra in 1991. It was the first time a spacecraft made a close flyby of an asteroid.
This image is a combination of images taken with the violet, green and near-IR filters at a resolution of about 163 m/pixel overlain on a 54 m/pixel resolution clear filter image.
The colors are highly exaggerated to bring out subtle differences in surface properties. Bluish regions represent fresher rock, while reddish regions are composed of regolith materials.
Gaspra is an irregular shaped body about 19 x 12 x 11 km. The illuminated portion in this image is about 18 km from lower left to upper right. The sun is shinning from the right.
