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It determined Vesta's interior structure by measuring its gravity field. Together, this data has elucidated the formation and evolution of this small rocky world in the main asteroid belt. Dawn found a heavily cratered surface on Vesta, with a rough topography that is transitional between planets and asteroids.

Unlike most asteroids, the interior of Vesta is differentiated. Like the terrestrial planets, the asteroid has a crust of cooled lava covering a rocky mantle and an iron and nickel core.

We suggest that at least some of the water in 4 Vesta (and possibly other rocky bodies in the inner Solar System) was derived from a relatively deuterium-poor reservoir in the protosolar nebula, which was incorporated into planetesimals formed early in Solar System history.

Measurements of Vesta's density indicate that, unlike many other asteroids, Vesta is not just a big chunk of rock. Instead, like the larger terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars), Vesta is differentiated. It has a crust featuring solidified basaltic lava, a rocky mantle, and a nickel-iron core.

Accomplishments at Vesta Dawn found a heavily cratered surface on Vesta, with a rough topography that is transitional between planets and asteroids. In addition to creating an enormous hole at Vesta's south pole, the two giant impacts caused planet-encircling trough systems to form.

The Moon reflects 12% of the light it receives from the Sun; Vesta returns 43%. What makes it so bright? There are at least two possibilities. Unlike the Moon and most small solar-system bodies that lack an atmosphere or magnetic field, Vesta shows little space weathering.

The distance of Asteroid 4 Vesta from Earth is currently 267,392,080 kilometers, equivalent to 1.787406 Astronomical Units. Light takes 14 minutes and 51.9240 seconds to travel from Asteroid 4 Vesta and arrive to us.

Vesta's rotation is relatively fast for an asteroid (5.342 h) and prograde, with the north pole pointing in the direction of right ascension 20 h 32 min, declination +48° (in the constellation Cygnus) with an uncertainty of about 10°. This gives an axial tilt of 29°.