Dawn spacecraft explored the two largest bodies in the main asteroid belt and provided new insight into our solar system.
After spending 11 years in space, NASA’s groundbreaking Dawn mission is coming to an end this year. The Dawn mission was designed to study two most massive bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, in the asteroid belt and returned a wealth of information about them. The spacecraft will continue to collect image and other science data until the end.
Dawn has accomplished many scientific feats since its launch on Sept. 27, 2007. It is the only spacecraft to orbit and explore two deep space targets between Mars and Jupiter. When it reached Ceres, it also became the only spacecraft to enter the orbit of a dwarf planet. In its final months, the spacecraft still has plenty to teach us about the mysteries of the deep space.
"Although it will be sad to see Dawn's departure from our mission family, we are intensely proud of its many accomplishments," said Lori Glaze from Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Not only did this spacecraft unlock scientific secrets at these two small but significant worlds, it was also the first spacecraft to visit and orbit bodies at two extraterrestrial destinations during its mission. Dawn's science and engineering achievements will echo throughout history.”
“Vesta and Ceres have each told their story of how and where they formed, and how they evolved -- a fiery magmatic history that led to rocky Vesta and a cooler, water-rich history that resulted in the ancient ocean world Ceres.” Carol Raymond, principal investigator of the Dawn mission, said.
Dawn's mission was extended several times. NASA authorized a second extension of Dawn mission at Ceres In late 2017. During that extension, the spacecraft made its closest approach to the surface of Ceres and studied the dwarf planet from an unprecedented vantage point. Now, Dawn spacecraft is running out of a key fuel, hydrazine, which steers the spacecraft and allows it to maintain communication with Earth. Researcers expect that the fuel tank of spacecraft will be empty sometime between September and October but it will remain in orbit around Ceres.