NASA's Dawn Approaches Protoplanet Vesta

After sometime, Dawn was reinstated and reached full functional status. It was finally launched on September 27, 2007 at 11:34 UTC.

Dawn’s is innovative because it will be the first spacecraft to enter into orbit around a celestial body (Vesta) to study it, and then move on to a second target (Ceres).

Mission

Dawn’s primary mission is to help us understand more about the conditions and processes of the solar system’s earliest epoch.

To do this, Dawn must investigate two massive protoplanets, Vesta and Ceres, that remains intact since the formation of the solar system.

Dawn has got a high-quality camera, a visible and near-infrared spectrometer and a gamma ray and neutron spectrometer. Dawn will also probe the objects’ (Vesta and Ceres) gravity using radio signals.

Vesta and Ceres

Vesta is a protoplanet that is some 143 million miles away from Earth. Scientists treat Vesta as the smallest terrestrial planet. There are many mysteries about Vesta.

The biggest mystery is why Vesta is so bright like Earth. What is in its surface that is causing the sunlight to be reflected?

Moreover, it has got planetary features like Mars, Mercury, Venus and Earth. Dawn will map Vesta’s surface. Scientists expect the planet’s interior to be layered (a crust, a mantle and an iron core).

Dawn will study these characteristics of Vesta. After studying them, Dawn will re-embark on a flight to Ceres, the second target.

Dawn will approach Ceres by 2015 and will study the dwarf planet’s structure and composition. Anyway, Dawn will arrive at Vesta in July.

It’s been a four-year journey and they started planning for Dawn back in 1992.

Are you excited about this? I like to hear more from you!