Mission to the asteroid belt

The Dawn spacecraft is NASA's mission to study small bodies in the solar system.

This is the first probe in history to study two similar space objects, which first enters orbit around one object, studies it, and then leaves orbit and goes to the second object, also entering orbit around it.

Dawn's targets are the asteroid 4 Vesta, the second largest and most massive asteroid in the Solar System, and the dwarf planet Ceres, which has long been considered the number one asteroid.

Another difference between Dawn and many missions is its ion propulsion engines. They provide a slow but constant increase in speed (97 km/h in four days).

Dawn was launched on September 27, 2007. On July 16, 2011, the probe moved into orbit near Vesta, where it still operates. On August 26, 2012, it is planned to leave Vesta’s orbit and switch to a flight path to Ceres, which the device should reach by February 2015. Dawn must operate in orbit around the dwarf planet for another six months.

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