NASA tool enables citizen scientists to examine asteroid

Washington: NASA has announced the release of Vesta Trek, a free, web-based application that provides detailed visualisations of Vesta, one of the largest asteroids in our solar system. The app has interactive maps with the ability to overlay a growing range of data sets including topography, mineralogy, abundance of elements and geology.

Vesta Trek also has analysis tools for measuring the diameter, height and depth of surface features. Its standard keyboard gaming controls can monitor a first person visualization of "flying" across the surface of the asteroid. Vesta Trek was developed by NASA's Lunar Mapping and Modeling Project (LMMP) and it represents the first application of LMMP's capabilities to another world beyond the moon.