Dawn (spacecraft) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
*Dawn*
	Illustration of the Dawn spacecraft
Mission type	Multi-target orbiter
Operator	NASA / JPL
Website	http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/
Mission duration	Planned: 9 years; Final: 11 years, 1 month, 5 days
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Orbital Sciences · JPL · UCLA
Launch mass	1,217.7 kg (2,684.6 lb)
Dry mass	747.1 kg (1,647.1 lb)
Dimensions	1.64 × 19.7 × 1.77 m (5.4 × 65 × 5.8 ft)
Power	10,000 watts at 1 AU; 1,300 watts at 3 AU
Start of mission
Launch date	September 27, 2007, 11:34 UTC
Rocket	Delta II 7925H
Launch site	Cape Canaveral SLC-17B
Contractor	United Launch Alliance
End of mission
Disposal	Uncontrolled/stable orbit
Last contact	30 October 2018
Flyby of Mars
Closest approach	February 18, 2009, 00:27:58 UTC
Distance	542 km (337 mi)
4 Vesta orbiter
Orbital insertion	July 16, 2011, 04:47 UTC
Orbital departure	September 5, 2012, 06:26 UTC
1 Ceres orbiter
Orbital insertion	March 6, 2015, 12:29 UTC
	; Dawn mission patch Discovery program ← Deep Impact Kepler →

Dawn is an unmanned NASA space probe. It has orbited and studied the asteroid Vesta, and it is currently orbiting the dwarf planet Ceres. Both Vesta and Ceres are in the asteroid belt. Dawn is the first spacecraft to visit Ceres and the first to visit Vesta. It also is the first spacecraft to orbit two extraterrestrial bodies.

Dawn was launched on September 27, 2007 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard a Delta 7925-H rocket. It then travelled to Mars for a gravity assist, making its closest approach to Mars in February 2009.

One of the photos Dawn took of Vesta

Next, Dawn set off for Vesta. It went into orbit in July, 2011. On September 5, 2012, Dawn left Vesta and headed for Ceres. It began to orbit Ceres on March 6, 2015.

Images for kids

Dawn prior to encapsulation at its launch pad on July 1, 2007
Dawn launching on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 17 on September 27, 2007
SERT-1: first ion engine NASA spacecraft; launched on July 20, 1964.
Scale comparison of Vesta, Ceres, and Earth's moon
Dawn image of Ceres from 13,600 km, May 4, 2015
Framing camera view of the Ceres bright spots
Greyscale NIR image of Mars (northwest Tempe Terra), taken by Dawn during its 2009 flyby
Central Mound at the South Pole on the asteroid Vesta on August 12, 2011
The snowman shaped craters on Vesta
Craters and ridges of Vesta
Map of Ceres feature names
Topographical map of Ceres
The first color map of Ceres by Dawn (exaggerated color, March 2015)