Dawn (spacecraft)

Dawn is a space probe launched bi NASA in September 2007 wi the mission o studyin twa o the three kent protoplanets o the asteroid belt, Vesta an Ceres. It is currently in orbit aboot its seicont tairget, the dwarf planet Ceres. Dawn is the first spacecraft tae orbit twa extraterrestrial bouks,^[6] the first spacecraft tae veesit either Vesta or Ceres, an an aa the first tae visit a dwarf planet, arrivin at Ceres in Mairch 2015, a few months afore New Horizons flew by Pluto in Julie 2015.

Dawn

Airtist's renderin o the Dawn spacecraft.
Mission teep	Multi-target orbiter
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	2007-043A
SATCAT no.	32249
Wabsteix	NASA NASA JPL
Mission duration	~9 years[1]
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Orbital Sciences · JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) · UCLA (Varsity o Californie, Los Angeles)
BOL mass	1,240 kg (2,730 lb) (wet)[2]
Pouer	1300 W (Solar array) at 3 AU[2]
Stairt o mission
Launch date	27 September 2007 (2007-09-27) 11:34:00 UTC[3] (16 years, 6 months and 8 days ago)
Rocket	Delta II 7925H
Launch steid	Cape Canaveral SLC-17B
Fleebi o Mars (Gravity assist)
Closest approach	17 Februar 2009 (2009-02-17) (15 years, 1 month and 18 days ago)
Distance	549 km (341 mi)
4 Vesta orbiter
Orbital insertion	16 Julie 2011 (2011-07-16) 04:47 UTC[4] (12 years, 8 months and 19 days ago)
Departit orbit	5 September 2012 (2012-09-05) (11 years, 6 months and 30 days ago)
1 Ceres orbiter
Orbital insertion	6 Mairch 2015 (2015-03-06)[5]
Dawn mission patch Discovery program ← Deep Impact Kepler →

Dawn entered Vesta orbit on Julie 16, 2011, an completit a 14-month survey mission afore leavin for Ceres in late 2012.^[7][8]