NASA's Dawn mission is coming to an end

After 11 years in space, NASA's revolutionary Dawn mission ends this year. The Dawn mission was designed to study two most massive bodies, the asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres, in the asteroid belt and provided a wealth of information about them. The spacecraft will continue to collect images and other scientific data until the end.

Dawn has accomplished many scientific feats since its launch on September 27, 2007. It is the only spacecraft to orbit and explore two deep space targets between Mars and Jupiter. When he reached Ceres, he also became the only spacecraft to enter the orbit of a dwarf planet. In his last few months, the spaceship still has a lot to teach us about the mysteries of deep space.

"Although sad to see Dawn's departure from our missionary family, we are extremely proud of her many accomplishments," said Lori Glaze of the Planetary Science Division at NASA's headquarters in Washington. "This spacecraft not only unlocked scientific secrets on these two small but significant worlds, but it was also the first spacecraft to visit and orbit bodies on two extraterrestrial destinations during its mission. Dawn's scientific and technical achievements will echo throughout history.

Dawn talked a lot about the geology and composition of the asteroid Vesta during her first 14 months of exploration from 2011 to 2012. She has crossed the asteroid belt for more than two years to reach the orbit of Ceres. Dawn has been studying since 2015 the dwarf planet Ceres, especially its mysterious luminous spots.

"Vesta and Ceres have each told how and where they were formed and how they evolved – a fiery magmatic story that led to the formation of rocky rocks and a colder, water-rich history that gave birth to Ceres. Raymond, principal investigator of the Dawn mission, said.

Dawn's mission has been extended several times. NASA has authorized a second expansion of the Dawn mission to Ceres in late 2017. During this expansion, the spacecraft approached the surface of Ceres and studied the dwarf planet one by one. unprecedented point of view. Now, Dawn's spacecraft is running out of an essential fuel, hydrazine, which steers the spacecraft and keeps it in communication with the Earth. Researchers expect the spacecraft reservoir to be empty between August and October this year, but will remain in orbit around Ceres.