The Dawn spacecraft captures new images of the Ceres Crater Crater

The north wall of the Occator crater on Ceres. The Dawn spacecraft imagined this function on June 16, 2018, as the spacecraft orbited the tiny dwarf planet at an altitude of just 33 kilometers (33 miles). Photo Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA

The NASA satellite Dawn has entered its intended final orbital position from which it will study the dwarf planet Ceres, the lowest of the probe has descended into the tiny world since it arrived in orbit on March 6, 2015.

The probe is powered by three xenon ion thrusters and it enters its new orbit around the dwarf planet on June 6 2018. Since then, the spacecraft has begun to radiate to the Earth new images of this tiny world.

This mosaic of a prominent mound located on the west side of Cerealia Facula was obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on June 22, 2018, at an altitude of 39 km. about 21 miles (34 kilometers). Image and legend Credit: NASA / JPL

One of the targets of Dawn is Occator Crater. Although the name may not ring the bell even among space enthusiasts, the "bright spots" contained in the crater should. These deposits are thought to be salt of brackish water that has burst from the surface of the dwarf planet before sublimating. The bright regions were found to be sodium carbonate. On Earth, these salts are left behind when the water evaporates.

Dawn was tasked with firing his ionic engine – for what might be the last time – last week. By performing this maneuver, the probe is close to the Cerealia Facula of the dwarf planet. This is the region of the Occator crater that contains a large deposit of soda ash.

"Acquiring these spectacular images was one of the greatest challenges of the extraordinary extraterrestrial expedition of Dawn and the results are better than we had …", said Marc Rayman, Chief Engineer of Dawn and Project Manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a press release. "Dawn is like a master artist, adding rich details to the beauty of another world in her intimate portrait of Ceres."

Dawn was directed to its last orbit Once again, it looks about 22 miles (35 kilometers) above the surface of the dwarf planet.

"The first views of Ceres obtained by Dawn gave us a single blinding bright spot," says Carol Raymond of JPL, Dawn's chief investigator . "Discovering the nature and history of this fascinating dwarf planet during Dawn's prolonged stay in Ceres was exciting, and it is particularly fitting that the last act of Dawn provide new rich data "

It is hoped that the closer position of the spacecraft will highlight its features.According to NASA, researchers will use the satellite's visible and infrared mapping spectrometer as well as other instruments ( including a gamma ray detector and neutrons as well as a visible and infrared mapping spectrometer) to further investigate the characteristics of the dwarf planet.] Prior to his recent descent, the Aurora most Nearly had traveled to Ceres 240 miles (385 kilometers), more than 200 miles away, the differences between the light and dark regions of the Vinalia Faculae region of the should not be more obvious.

Dawn was built by Orbital Sciences and operated by the JPL, which is located in Pasadena, California. We can see more images of the vehicle here . Rayman provides updates on the discoveries of the spacecraft in orbit over the dwarf planet, which can be found here: Dawn Journal .

Tagged: Ceres Dawn NASA Crater Crater

Jason Rhian

Jason Rhian spent several years honing his skills with internships at NASA, the National Space Society and other organizations . He has provided content for sales outlets such as: Aviation Week and Space Technology, Space.com, The Mars Society and Universe Today.