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Tag Archives: NASA Mission

Dawn Mission Extended at Ceres a Second Time

The Catholic Astronomer avatarPosted on October 20, 2017 by Bob TrembleyOctober 20, 2017
This entry is part of 25 in the series The Dawn Misson to the Asteroid Belt

NASA has authorized a second extension of the Dawn mission at Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. During this extension, the spacecraft will descend to lower altitudes than ever before at the dwarf planet, which it has been orbiting since March 2015. The spacecraft will continue at Ceres for the remainder of its science investigation and will remain in a stable orbit indefinitely after its hydrazine fuel runs out. The Dawn flight team is studying ways to maneuver Dawn into a new elliptical orbit, which may take the spacecraft to less than 120 miles (200 kilometers) from the surface of Ceres at closest approach. Previously, Dawn’s lowest altitude was 240 miles (385 kilometers). A priority of the second Ceres mission extension is collecting data with Dawn’s gamma ray and neutron spectrometer, which measures the number and energy of gamma rays and neutrons. This information is important for understanding the composition of Ceres’ uppermost layer … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Space Exploration | Tagged Ceres, Dawn, Extension, NASA Mission | Leave a reply

Grand Finale – Painting inspired by the Cassini Mission to Saturn

The Catholic Astronomer avatarPosted on March 6, 2017 by Deirdre KelleghanMarch 6, 2017
This entry is part of 11 in the series Exploring the Solar System

… Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Outreach, Planet, Science, Space Exploration | Tagged Cassini, Cassini Inspires, education, ESA, NASA Mission, Painting, Saturn, Saturn Observation Campaign, Spacecraft | Leave a reply
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