Asteroid 4 Vesta
Asteroid Vesta is the second largest body in the asteroid belt and differentiated only several million years after the formation of the refractory inclusions. It is widely considered to be the prime example of a proto-planet. Observations by the space probe DAWN confirmed Vesta to be the source of the Howardite - Eucrite - Diogenite (HED) meteorite suite. Additional insights on its interior structure, differentiation and early geochemical evolution will therefore provide new views on the earliest stages of planet formation.