NASA has authorizeda second extensionof the Dawn mission , which has so far explored the asteroid Vesta and , for the last two years , has been revolve the dwarf planet Ceres . The spacecraft will continue to orbit Ceres until its fuel runs out .
But more exciting skill will happen before then . The team is currently see into maneuvering the spacecraft into a new orbit that will take Dawn as low-toned as 200 kilometers ( 125 miles ) , which is almost doubly as unaired as the place probe has ever been to the dwarf planet . Theprevious recordis 385 kilometers ( 240 miles ) of EL .
This flypast will allow Dawn to take some close - up eyeshot of the gnome planet ’s surface , as well as study its mineralogy using an infrared instrument . It will also garner more data with its da Gamma - beam and neutron spectrometer , which will allow researchers to sympathise what the uppermost layer of Ceres is really made of .
An significant date for Ceres will be April 2018 , when the dwarf planet get through its perihelion – its closest approaching to the Sun . scientist expect that more icing will melt on its surface when it make closer to the Sun and that the water vapor could form a very debile and temporary atmosphere around Ceres . The European Space Telescope ’s Herschel did spot such a feature before Dawn arrived two and half years ago .
The squad wait that Dawn will go forward operating until the 2nd half of 2018 . It will carry out as much science as possible , before being put on a stable electron orbit . Unlike Rosetta orCassini , the mission will not end with a bang . The scientists aim to protect Ceres from Earthly contamination . Dawn will become a permanent satellite of the dwarf planet .
The Dawn mission is the first human mission to orbit two different solar system body . The ballistic capsule studied asteroid Vesta for 14 months between 2011 and 2012 and then moved onto Ceres , which it reach in March 2015 .
The Dawn spacecraft has serve stargazer understand some of the mysteries of Ceres , such as itsbright spot , which is a common salt deposit from some form of geologic eruption , peradventure related to an wallop .
