Asteroids: The Rocky Wanderers

Ceres is the largest known asteroid in the solar system, with a diameter of approximately 950 kilometers.

Eros is an asteroid with an elongated, dog bone-like shape. It was the first asteroid to be visited by a spacecraft, NEAR Shoemaker, in 2000.

The Dawn mission was launched in 2007 to study the asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. It arrived at Vesta in 2011 and Ceres in 2015.

The Chicxulub impactor was an asteroid that collided with Earth 66 million years ago, creating a crater in the Gulf of Mexico and causing the extinction of the dinosaurs.

The Flora asteroid family is the largest in the solar system, containing over 2000 members.

The Hayabusa spacecraft visited the asteroid Itokawa in 2005 and returned samples to Earth in 2010.

The asteroid Psyche is known for its high metal content and is considered a potential source of valuable metals, such as iron and nickel.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft visited the asteroid Bennu in 2018 and is scheduled to return samples to Earth in 2023.

The asteroid Eros is known for its rapid rotation, completing one full rotation in just 4.3 hours.

The NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft visited the asteroid Eros in 1997 and became the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid.

The asteroid Vesta is known for its two large craters, thought to be caused by impacts from other asteroids.

The Dawn mission visited the asteroid Ceres in 2015, which is the largest object in the asteroid belt.

The asteroid Ceres is known for its unusual composition, containing a large amount of water ice.

The Hayabusa2 spacecraft visited the asteroid Ryugu in 2018 and is scheduled to return samples to Earth in 2020.