← ALL PROBES
DISTANCE FROM SUN2.6915 AU
DISTANCE FROM EARTH2.9361 AU
VELOCITY18.435 km/s
LIGHT TIME24 min
UPDATED7h ago
2.6915
AU FROM SUN
DISTANCE
402,642,669 km
66,366
KM/H
VELOCITY
11 years, 35 days
MISSION DURATION
TOTAL
24
MINUTES LIGHT TIME
ONE-WAY SIGNAL DELAY
1,240
KG
LAUNCH MASS
3
TARGETS
Mars, Asteroid Vesta, Dwarf Planet Ceres
Dawn is a orbiter mission by NASA / JPL targeting Ceres. Launched September 27, 2007. Currently 2.6915 AU from the Sun.
ABOUT DAWN
Dawn was the first spacecraft to orbit two different bodies beyond Earth — the giant asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres. Using ion propulsion, it revealed Vesta as a battered protoplanet and Ceres as a geologically active world with bright spots of sodium carbonate deposited by briny water from a subsurface reservoir.
KEY DISCOVERIES
- Bright spots on Ceres (sodium carbonate from briny water)
- Vesta has a differentiated iron core like a planet
- Evidence of recent geological activity on Ceres
- Ahuna Mons: cryovolcano on Ceres
TECHNOLOGY & FIRSTS
- First spacecraft to orbit two different bodies beyond Earth
- First to orbit a dwarf planet (Ceres)
- Used ion propulsion as primary thrust
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS (3)
FC (Framing Camera)
VIR (IR/Visible Mapping Spectrometer)
GRaND (Gamma Ray/Neutron Detector)
SPACECRAFT SPECIFICATIONS
Launch Mass1,240 kg (2,734 lbs)
PowerSolar panels
PropulsionIon propulsion (3 NSTAR ion engines)
Launch VehicleDelta II 7925H
Launch DateSeptember 27, 2007
Arrival DateJuly 16, 2011
Mission EndNovember 1, 2018
ProgramDiscovery
MISSION TRAJECTORY
1
Mars
2
Asteroid Vesta
3
Dwarf Planet Ceres