The Dawn fly-by of Mars went very well, and the craft snapped a nice picture on closest approach. Dawn is on its way to a rendezvous of Vesta and Ceres, two large protoplanets in our solar system, on 2011 and 2015, respectively. These two bodies have been around for a very long time and studying them will give scientists a peek into the earliest period of our solar system. NASA:
Dawn's science instrument suite will measure shape, surface topography, tectonic history, elemental and mineral composition, and will seek out water-bearing minerals. In addition, the Dawn spacecraft itself and how it orbits both Vesta and Ceres will be used to measure the celestial bodies' masses and gravity fields.
The craft should also return some terrific visual images.
Wayne
Image credit: William K. Hartmann Courtesy of UCLA
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