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Subject Dawn Spacecraft Begins Approach to Dwarf Planet Ceres

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The equally fascinating part is the success of "ion propulsion".

"... The spacecraft uses ion propulsion to traverse space far more efficiently than if it used chemical propulsion. In an ion propulsion engine, an electrical charge is applied to xenon gas, and charged metal grids accelerate the xenon particles out of the thruster. These particles push back on the thruster as they exit, creating a reaction force that propels the spacecraft. Dawn has now completed five years of accumulated thrust time, far more than any other spacecraft... "
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They weren't even sure that the ion propulsion engine would work in "space" like they'd hoped. The first ion propulsion engine was made in 1960 (that we know of) but they had only done minimal testing on a small scale in space...

Here's a cool presentation of how an ion propulsion engine works.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/HcEc7dnRppw[/youtube]
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Original Message Dec 30, 2014: NASA's Dawn spacecraft has entered an approach phase in which it will continue to close in on Ceres, a Texas-sized dwarf planet never before visited by a spacecraft. Dawn launched in 2007 and is scheduled to enter Ceres orbit in March 2015.

"Ceres is almost a complete mystery to us," said Christopher Russell, principal investigator for the Dawn mission, based at the University of California, Los Angeles. "Ceres has no meteorites linked to it to help reveal its secrets. All we can predict with confidence is that we will be surprised."

[link to science.nasa.gov]

Pictures (click to insert)





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