The Dawn spacecraft will conduct the first in-depth exploration of a dwarf planet.
This is Ceres, a dwarf planet:
NASA
This is NASA's Dawn spacecraft:
NASA
On Friday, Dawn, launched in 2007, began orbiting Ceres, the largest celestial body between Mars and Jupiter.
"Studying Ceres allows us to do historical research in space, opening a window into the earliest chapter in the history of our solar system," said Jim Green, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division at the agency's Headquarters in Washington. "Data returned from Dawn could contribute significant breakthroughs in our understanding of how the solar system formed."
"Dawn is about to make history," said Robert Mase, project manager for the Dawn mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "Our team is ready and eager to find out what Ceres has in store for us."
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/18nRO4v
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