Vesta, the second mass of the body in the asteroid belt, was considered to be absolutely dry. But Dawn spacecraft found evidence that water-rich asteroids smaller once "implanted" themselves into the surface of Vesta.

Water remains locked in hydrated minerals to following clashes that will create enough heat to melt rock and releasing water in the form of gas, leaving on a surface characteristic of the pit.

Researchers presented their views in the journal Science in two articles. In the first tells how one of the instruments apparatus Dawn, which was measured gamma rays and neutrons at a depth of about one meter, found an excess of hydrogen in the Equatorial regions of the asteroid that testified to the water content in the amount of more than 400 parts per million. The second article tells about a hundred holes (some depth up to 200 m), many of which are located in areas where it is believed that there were collisions, resulting in water was able to escape into space.

William Boynton of the University of Arizona (USA) considers that the excess hydrogen may indicate water in hydrated minerals. Using such a tool probe Mars Odyssey scientist have revealed excess hydrogen on Mars and interpreted the data as layers of ice just below the surface of the Arctic plains of the red planet.

Hydrated minerals have also been discovered on the moon tool Indian probe "chandrayan-1. However, co-author of one of the articles Carly Pieters of brown University (USA) noted that there was used a completely different mechanism: in minerals lunar surface consists of atoms of hydrogen from solar wind. Although water-rich asteroids, undoubtedly faced Moon, water were less likely to survive the impact: the moon is much more powerful gravitational field than the Vesta, so the collision occurred at a higher speed.

Dawn left West on 5 September and now it goes to Ceres, the largest asteroid in the Solar system, recently received the status of dwarf planet. It is already known that it contains water, and some researchers even suggested that she hides in its depths a salty ocean.

Based on the materials of Nature News.