Cross dwarf planets off the bucket list. NASA鈥檚 is on track to arrive at Ceres, which will become the first dwarf planet to get a spacecraft visitor, early on 6 March. The icy world may hold clues as to how our solar system came together.
Dawn previously orbited the asteroid Vesta, and took off in 2012 to chase Ceres, a 950-kilometre-wide object in the asteroid belt. The arrival will set a personal record for Dawn, making it the first spacecraft to visit two different worlds.
The spacecraft should swing into orbit around Ceres at 4.20 am Pacific time, but NASA scientists won鈥檛 be able to confirm success until the afternoon, when the spacecraft will be in the right spot to send signals back to mission control. Dawn will orbit the dwarf planet for a year. During this time, the craft will gather information about Ceres鈥檚 unique features, particularly subsurface geological processes, in an effort to learn more about it and about the role that similar objects had in the formation of the solar system.
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The mission will also provide a closer look at a strange sight in one of Ceres鈥檚 craters: , recently imaged by Dawn on its approach. The spots have puzzled NASA scientists, who believe they may be ice or salts, or perhaps related to the faint plumes of water vapour detected by the European Space Agency鈥檚 Herschel spacecraft early last year. Although Dawn鈥檚 instruments are not designed to confirm the vapour finding, they may be able to observe it indirectly.
鈥淭he mystery will be solved, but it鈥檚 one that鈥檚 really got us on the edge of our seats,鈥� said , Dawn鈥檚 deputy principal investigator, at a press conference on Monday.
The more famous dwarf planet Pluto will have to wait for its time in the spotlight: the New Horizons spacecraft will arrive there in July.
This article will appear in print under the headline 鈥淒warf world Dawn鈥�
