![]() ![]() Accomplishmentsĭawn comprehensively mapped Vesta, revealing an exotic and diverse protoplanet. ![]() The orbiter targeted the giant asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, two main asteroid belt worlds that followed very differently evolutionary paths. ![]() ![]() Launch Dateĭawn is designed to study the conditions and processes of the solar system's earliest epoch by investigating in detail two of the largest protoplanets remaining intact since their formations. Currently, it's in orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres, where it will remain for decades. The Dawn spacecraft launched 11 years ago to visit the two largest objects in the main asteroid belt. Dawn can no longer keep its antennae trained on Earth to communicate with mission control or turn its solar panels to the Sun to recharge. After the flight team eliminated other possible causes for the missed communications, mission managers concluded that the spacecraft finally ran out of hydrazine, the fuel that enables the spacecraft to control its pointing. NASA's Dawn spacecraft has gone silent, ending a historic mission that studied time capsules from the solar system's earliest chapter.ĭawn missed scheduled communications sessions with NASA's Deep Space Networkon Wednesday, Oct. ![]()
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