NASA's unique mission in the asteroid belt is coming to an end

Here are some highlights of NASA's Dawn mission, the first spacecraft to orbit the asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres.

After 11 years of trekking through part of the previously unexplored inner solar system, NASA's Dawn mission is nearing completion.

The Fearless Space Probe has become the first spaceship to venture into the interior of the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter's orbits.

There, Dawn has collected unique data on the two largest residents of the belt – the giant asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres – thus becoming the first spaceship to visit two extraterrestrial bodies during the same mission .

During her remarkable journey into space, Dawn broadcast extraordinary photos of Vesta and Ceres, as well as a host of data that provided an unparalleled insight into the history and characteristics of both extraterrestrial worlds.

But the intrepid spacecraft, which uses a very ingenious mode of transportation known as ionic propulsion, is running out of fuel and is expected to completely deplete its hydrazine reserves between September and October, NASA announced earlier today. # 39; hui.

When this occurs, Dawn will lose all means of contact with the Earth, as well as its ability to maintain its orientation, controlled by the spacecraft's hydrazine propellants. This will leave Dawn hanging around Ceres, frozen in its last planned orbit, where the spaceship can last for at least a few more decades.

Unlike the Cassini spacecraft, which had its hour of glory in the atmosphere of Saturn, Dawn will not fall on her last target. Ceres with no atmosphere, the only way to protect the dwarf planet – the only one in the internal solar system Inquisitr – Terrestrial contamination is so Dawn never touches his surface.

Dawn Mission Highlights

Throughout his adventure inside the asteroid belt, the Dawn space probe conquered territories until then unknown and achieved "unprecedented feats of space engineering" NASA officials said in a statement.

Her many impressive accomplishments have made the mission team "extremely proud," according to Lori Glaze, acting director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA 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 resonate throughout history, "said Glaze.

In the last 11 years, I have traveled to the asteroid belt and watched the beginnings of the solar system. Here are some highlights: https://t.co/jkvt7ZHs1Z #Duskfordawn pic.twitter.com/vwikUHis0T

– NASA mission at dawn (@NASA_Dawn) September 7, 2018

The Odyssey of the Dawn spacecraft began in September 2007, when the spacecraft reached the sky at the top of a Delta II-Heavy rocket launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The first four years of his trip were spent traveling to Vesta, which was put into orbit for 14 months from 2011 to 2012. Meanwhile, the Dawn mission mapped the complete asteroid from the ground surface. mountains.

After two years of flying through the asteroid belt, Dawn turned to Ceres, where she arrived in 2015 and is still conducting scientific operations – and will continue to do so until all her fuel is spent.

As the Inquisitr Recently, the spacecraft approached Ceres at the end of June, when Dawn arrived 21 miles from its surface and took the closest photo of the dwarf planet.

The spacecraft has also made important discoveries about the scattered light spots on the surface of Ceres, known as faculae, which eventually turned out to be massive salt deposits.

"The results reinforce the idea that dwarf planets, not just freezing moons like Enceladus and Europa, could have harbored oceans in their history – and could still do so," NASA notes.

Another spectacular breakthrough of the Dawn mission was the realization that Ceres had abundant amounts of organic matter on its surface, the Inquisitr Reported previously.

"Dawn's legacy is that he has explored two of the last unexplored worlds of the inner solar system," said Marc Rayman, director of the Dawn mission and chief engineer of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "Dawn showed us extraterrestrial worlds that for two centuries were just points of light among the stars. And he produced these richly detailed intimate portraits and revealed exotic and mysterious landscapes different from anything we've ever seen. "