Dawn has conducted an extensive exploration of dwarf planet Ceres, the largest object between the Sun and Pluto that had not previously been visited by a spacecraft. Following its arrival at Ceres in March 2015, Dawn acquired all the planned data from four circular polar orbits ranging in altitude from 13,600 km to 385 km. After the successful conclusion of its primary mission in June 2016, Dawn's mission was extended, and new investigations, not previously considered, were conducted from three new orbits. The mission has provided a uniquely detailed view of the first dwarf planet discovered. The overall strategy for exploring Ceres was based strongly on the extremely successful 16 months of Vesta operations. Nevertheless, the loss of two of the spacecraft's four reaction wheels before arrival at Ceres necessitated some important changes in order to conserve hydrazine. These changes were so effective that Dawn has been able to operate beyond the expected end of life, acquiring significantly more data than planned. This paper describes Ceres operations in the primary and extended missions as well as some of the major findings there.


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    Titel :

    Dawn at Ceres: The First Exploration of the First Dwarf Planet


    Beteiligte:

    Erscheinungsdatum :

    2017-09-25


    Medientyp :

    Preprint


    Format :

    Keine Angabe


    Sprache :

    Englisch





    Hydrazine Conservation for the Dawn Spacecraft Operations at the Dwarf Planet Ceres

    Salami, Mana / Feldman, Antonette W. / Smith, Brett A. et al. | NTRS | 2017


    Dawn's Arrival at Dwarf Planet Ceres

    Rayman, Marc D. / Graf, James E. | NTRS | 2015


    Dawn's Arrival at Dwarf Planet Ceres

    Rayman, Marc D. / Graf, James E. | NTRS | 2015