Gaspra


Gaspra

((951) Gaspra) A typical S-type asteroid discovered by the Ukrainian astronomer Grigoriy N. Neujmin in 1916. It became the first asteroid ever to be visited by a spacecraft from the Earth when it was imaged by the Galileo probe in Oct. 1991 from a distance of about 16 000 km; the spacecraft was on its way to Jupiter. Gaspra was found to be conical in shape, being about 15 km across at its broadest. The shape was consistent with it being a fragment produced by the breakup of a much larger body some time in the past. The surface was, however, much smoother than anticipated and lacked the expected number of large craters.

Gaspra

 

an urban-type settlement in Crimean Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, 10 km southwest of Yalta. It is a seacoast climatic resort on the southern coast of the Crimea. There is a factory for reinforced concrete products and building materials in the settlement. Gaspra is surrounded by vineyards, orchards, and tobacco plantations.