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posted by chromas on Tuesday September 11 2018, @06:06AM   Printer-friendly

Legacy of NASA's Dawn, Near the End of its Mission

NASA's Dawn mission is drawing to a close after 11 years of breaking new ground in planetary science, gathering breathtaking imagery, and performing unprecedented feats of spacecraft engineering.

Dawn's mission was extended several times, outperforming scientists' expectations in its exploration of two planet-like bodies, Ceres and Vesta, that make up 45 percent of the mass of the main asteroid belt. Now the spacecraft is about to run out of a key fuel, hydrazine. When that happens, most likely between mid-September and mid-October, Dawn will lose its ability to communicate with Earth. It will remain in a silent orbit around Ceres for decades.

[...] Because Ceres has conditions of interest to scientists who study chemistry that leads to the development of life, NASA follows strict planetary protection protocols for the disposal of the Dawn spacecraft. Unlike Cassini, which deliberately plunged into Saturn's atmosphere to protect the system from contamination -- Dawn will remain in orbit around Ceres, which has no atmosphere.

Engineers designed Dawn's final orbit to ensure it will not crash for at least 20 years -- and likely decades longer.

Dawn, Vesta, and Ceres.

Previously: Dawn's Orbit Around Ceres: A New Low
Dawn Spacecraft Captures Closest-Ever Images of Ceres' Shiny Occator Crater


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