NASA’s Dawn leaving Vesta, heading to Ceres
SEP 10, 2012
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.026326
Los Angeles Times : Launched in 2007, the Dawn spacecraft has spent the past 13 months in orbit around Vesta, the second biggest asteroid in the solar system. Now the probe is heading toward a new and bigger asteroid, Ceres, which is officially designated a dwarf planet, the only one inside Jupiter’s orbit. While in orbit around Vesta, Dawn discovered a history of large-scale melting and hardening and significant collisions. Dawn is propelled by an ion thrust engine, which uses electricity to ionize xenon gas, and magnetics to expel the ions. Though much less powerful than conventional fuel rockets, its propulsion system is highly efficient. Dawn is scheduled to reach Ceres in 2015.
© 2012 American Institute of Physics
