The Curiosity rover on Mars is exploring the base of Mount Sharp, within the Gale Crater. Did the crater hold a series of lakes? Did lake sediments create the mountain?
Calculations by NASA and Harvard say the closest the asteroid will get to Earth is about 2.7 million miles - over 10 times the moon's distance - in April 2047.
Dawn spacecraft's chief engineer and mission director at JPL shares insights. Dawn due to reach Ceres in March, 2015. First spacecraft ever to orbit two planetary bodies!