Dawn Spacecraft

space exploration · asteroid belt · NASA missions

Launched in 2007. NASA sent the Dawn spacecraft into space in September 2007 on a special mission to visit and study two of the largest asteroids in the asteroid belt.

Visited two giant asteroids. Dawn first orbited an asteroid called Vesta starting in July 2011, where it studied the space rock for 14 months. Then it traveled to Ceres, an even bigger asteroid, and arrived there in March 2015.

Ran out of fuel. The mission was supposed to last nine years, but NASA kept it going until November 2018, when Dawn finally used up all its hydrazine rocket fuel and could no longer move or send commands.

Still orbiting Ceres. Even though Dawn is no longer working, it didn't crash or get lost. The spacecraft remains in a stable orbit around Ceres and will keep circling that distant asteroid forever.