By Daily Mail Reporter UPDATED: 04:46 EST, 19 July 2011 Nasa's Dawn spacecraft has home the first close-up image of the massive asteroid Vesta after a four-year, 1.7billion-mile journey to get there. The robot surveyor is preparing to begin a study of a surface that may date to the earliest era of the solar system. Its entry into orbit on Saturday morning occurred while the spacecraft's antenna was pointed away from Earth, so mission controllers had to wait for Dawn to re-establish contact to confirm its success. Craters visible: The Dawn spacecraft has sent back the first close-up image of the massive asteroid Vesta after a four-year, 1.7billion-mile journey to get there
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Robot surveyor went into orbit on Saturday while its antenna was pointed away from Earth
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Nasa had to wait for Dawn to re-establish contact to confirm its success
Smash and grab: The view of Vesta from @placeholder a month ago, showing the asteroid's lop-sided appearance.