NASA's Dawn space mission to the asteroid belt lifted off without a hitch this morning. The spacecraft, on a mission expected to last eight years, will visit two of the larger objects in the asteroid belt.
"Dawn is expected to rendezvous and orbit the 330-mile (530-kilometer) wide Vesta between August 2011 and May 2012, then move on to Texas-sized Ceres by February 2015. With its spherical shape and 585-mile (942-kilometer) diameter, Ceres is so large it is also considered a dwarf planet."
The mission's results are expected to give scientists much more data on the composition of both space rocks, which may shed new light on the formation of the solar system. It will be the first mission ever to visit a dwarf planet. (The New Horizons mission to Pluto will rendezvous with that dwarf planet several years after the Dawn mission visits Ceres.)
The craft carries a variety of instrumentation, including a camera, a spectrometer, and a gamma ray and neutron detector. The craft utilizes one of the most powerful solar arrays ever built, with a 65 ft wingspan capable of generating 10 kilowatts of power to operate these instruments. In addition, the craft has 3 ion engines utilizing xenon gas, which provide a gentle thrust that builds up momentum over the course of the journey and yet allows the craft to enter into orbit around stellar objects and change directions during the mission. This is the first use of this type of engine in a spacecraft by humanity, popularized by the science fiction TV series Star Trek.
Very cool, Star Trek meets NASA space probe. Excellent times we live in, not that many notice.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
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