The Dawn spacecraft launched on September 27, 2007. It then went through an 80-day testing and calibration period while moving toward its destination. It will orbit and analyze two members of the asteroid belt, the dwarf planet Ceres and the asteroid Vesta.

1. Major contractors: Orbital, JPL, UCLA
2. Mission type: Orbiter
3. Satellite of: Vesta and Ceres
4. Launch vehicle: Delta 7925H
5. October, 2011: Scheduled arrival at VestaSPACE: How NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Will Explore Solar System's Origin (June 27, 2007)
6. February, 2015: Scheduled arrival at CeresSPACE: How NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Will Explore Solar System's Origin (June 27, 2007)
7. Mission duration: 8 years
8. Mission distance: 3 billion milesScience Daily: NASA Launches Asteroid Mission, Dawn (September 27, 2008)

1. Ion propulsion system generates gradual thrustSPACE: How NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Will Explore Solar System's Origin (June 27, 2007)
2. Accelerated charged particles create thrust
3. Equipped with solar array
4. 10 kW: Solar array power at Earth distanceUCLA: Dawn: Key Spacecraft Characteristics
5. 1 kW: Solar array power at Ceres distanceUCLA: Dawn: Key Spacecraft Characteristics
6. Infrared and visible camera on boardSPACE: How NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Will Explore Solar System's Origin (June 27, 2007)
7. Equipped with gamma ray and neutron spectrometerSPACE: How NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Will Explore Solar System's Origin (June 27, 2007)

• Wikipedia: Dawn Mission
• Official Dawn Site: Mission FAQs
• Official Site: Mission Overview
  • Mahalo's page on Ceres
  • Mahalo's page on Vesta