JPL: Mountain 3X Size of Everest Spotted on Asteroid

The -managed Dawn spacecraft has captured an image from the surface of the giant asteroid Vesta revealing a mountain three times as high as Mt. Everest in the space rock’s southern hemisphere. The peak rises about 13 miles above the surrounding terrain. The image also revealed a cliff with a steep slope near the enormous mountain, with features that scientists believe are the result of landslides.

Dawn began orbiting Vesta in July and will stay in orbit there for one year. Dawn will then journey to the asteroid Ceres, arriving in 2015. To learn more about the Dawn mission and view the image, visit NASA’s Dawn webpage.

JPL Movie Screening at Caltech

In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the first rocket experiment at , Caltech will offer a free, public screening of the film “The American Rocketeer” at the campus’ Beckman Auditorium on Tuesday, October 25 at 8 p.m.

The documentary focuses on Frank Malina, who along with a group of other Caltech students, conducted rocket engine test on Halloween day, 1936, in the area then known as the Arroyo. Using Malina’s personal letters, video clips, and art, the film tells the story of how JPL grew into the renowned exploration institution it is today.

Seating at the screening is first come, first served. The Beckman Auditorium is located at 332 South Michigan Avenue, Pasadena. For directions and parking information, please see Caltech’s website.

The film is the first in a series of three chronicling the early years of JPL, The series, “Beginnings of the Space Age,” will premier e on KCET on November 3 at 9 p.m.

Mars Rover Tour Movie

NASA collected 309 images as the Mars Rover Opportunity traveled from the planet’s Victoria crater to the Endeavor crater. A new video has been put together compiling these images, according to , “providing a historic record of the three-year trek that totaled about 13 miles.”

Opportunity’s drive included detours to avoid treacherous terrain, as well as far-away views of the crater rim. The video also includes a soundtrack made of sped-up low frequency data reflecting the vibrations of the rover while moving over the Martian landscape.

To view the video, visit NASA’s multimedia webpage. To learn more about the Mars rovers and their mission, visit JPL’s Mars rovers’ webpage.