 Carbonaceous chondrites are comparatively rich in mineralogically bound OH.There is a large collection of potential samples from Vesta accessible to scientists, in the form of over 1200 HED meteorites (Vestan achondrites), giving insight into Vesta's geologic history and structure.NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (NASA IRTF) studies of asteroid suggest that it originated from deeper within Vesta than the HED meteorites

Vesta is thought to consist of a metallic iron–nickel core 214–226 km in diameter, an overlying rocky olivine mantle, with a surface crust.