Dawn, part of NASA's Discovery Program of competitively selected missions, was launched in 2007 to orbit the large asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The two bodies have very different properties from each other. By observing them both with the same set of instruments, Dawn will probe the early solar system and specify the properties of each body.
Led by principal investigator Dr. Christopher T. Russell of UCLA, the project is managed by JPL. The spacecraft was built by Orbital Sciences Corp. and uses solar-electric ion propulsion.
Purpose: Asteroid orbiter
Launch: September 27, 2007
Planck Chills Out (6/12/09)
Dawn Re-Lights the Ionic Fire (6/8/09)
Spitzer Teams up With Other Telescopes to Find Big Blob (4/22/09)
NASA Team Finds Riches in Meteorite Treasure Hunt (3/30/09)
Dawn Finishes Mars Phase (2/26/09)
Dawn Images the Red Planet (2/20/09)
