Dawn
NASA's Dawn Discovery mission used ion propulsion to orbit and study both protoplanet Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, providing comparative evidence about the formation and evolution of rocky and icy planetary bodies.
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Identity
- Aliases
- Dawn Mission
- Name
- Dawn
- Status
- completed
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- NASA's Dawn Discovery mission used ion propulsion to orbit and study both protoplanet Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, providing comparative evidence about the formation and evolution of rocky and icy planetary bodies.
- Destination
- Vesta orbit from July 2011 followed by dwarf planet Ceres orbit from March 2015 in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter; first spacecraft to orbit two extraterrestrial targets and a dwarf planet, ending after hydrazine depletion on 1 November 2018
- End Date
- 2018-11-01
- Launch Site
- Outcome
- Success. Dawn became the first spacecraft to orbit an object in the main asteroid belt, the first to visit a dwarf planet, and the first to orbit two extraterrestrial destinations. It completed detailed surveys of Vesta and Ceres and operated through two extended missions until hydrazine depletion ended communications in Ceres orbit.
- Programs
- Start Date
- 2007-09-27
- Vehicle Families
Links
- Official Url
- https://science.nasa.gov/mission/dawn/
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- July 17, 2026 at 00:13:44 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 23, 2026 at 02:04:33 UTC
- Image
- Download
Other
- Affiliations
- Search Name
- Dawn Dawn Mission
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles