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mfb
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I'm not aware of any properly working probe that has been shut down simply because the space agency didn't want to use it any more.
Weird. I read the latest journal the other day, and don't remember "that message".1oldman2 said:http://spacenews.com/nasa-reviews-options-for-dawn-extended-mission/
WASHINGTON - "NASA expects to make a decision within the next two months whether to keep the Dawn spacecraft in orbit around the largest body in the main asteroid belt or have it fly past another asteroid."
The folks at JPL don't seem to be saying much about the future of Dawn, I can't find anything but vague references to the possible upcoming mission phase but I'm sure they will come up with something soon.OmCheeto said:Weird. I read the latest journal the other day, and don't remember "that message".
supporting the idea that Ceres' deeper interior contains liquid left over from its ancient ocean.
Interesting reading.mfb said:https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/2017/10/26/dawn-finds-possible-ancient-ocean-remnants-at-ceres
mfb said:The mountain itself causes a gravitational anomaly.
Somewhere, far back in this thread I mentioned to Marcus that Ceres was going to be in demand for mining eventually. I wonder what the value of all that potential "Fossil" Ocean will be in one hundred years or so.OmCheeto said:I was most intrigued by the fact that Ahuna Mons has the highest gravitational anomaly.
View attachment 213998Of course, this only feeds my hypothesis as to what might be causing this, but I'll wait and see if my guess was correct.
(Highlight from me)By analyzing data collected near the end of the mission, Dawn scientists have concluded that the liquid came from a deep reservoir of brine, or salt-enriched water. By studying Ceres' gravity, scientists learned more about the dwarf planet's internal structure and were able to determine that the brine reservoir is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) deep and hundreds of miles wide.
Ceres doesn't benefit from internal heating generated by gravitational interactions with a large planet, as is the case for some of the icy moons of the outer solar system. But the new research, which focuses on Ceres' 57-mile-wide (92-kilometer-wide) Occator Crater – home to the most extensive bright areas – confirms that Ceres is a water-rich world like these other icy bodies.
The story has been picked up and reported by some media.The research was conducted by Rafael Ribeiro de Sousa, a professor in the program of graduate studies in physics on the Guaratinguetá campus. The co-authors of the article are Ernesto Vieira Neto, who was Ribeiro de Sousa's PhD thesis advisor, and researchers affiliated with Côte d'Azur University in France, Rice University in the United States, and the National Observatory in Rio de Janeiro.
The Dawn spacecraft was launched in 2007 with the purpose of studying two of the largest bodies in the asteroid belt, Vesta and Ceres. It was the first spacecraft to orbit two extraterrestrial bodies and provided valuable insights into the formation and evolution of our solar system. Running out of fuel in Ceres orbit marked the end of its mission and the completion of its objectives.
Dawn's fuel, hydrazine, was used to power its ion thrusters, which helped it maneuver and maintain its orbit around Ceres. After more than 11 years of operation, Dawn's fuel supply was depleted, causing it to lose control and crash into the surface of Ceres.
Dawn's mission to Vesta and Ceres provided valuable insights into the formation and evolution of our solar system. Some of the key discoveries made by Dawn include the presence of water on Ceres, evidence of past geological activity on both Vesta and Ceres, and the confirmation of Vesta as a protoplanet, or a large asteroid that is a precursor to a planet.
Dawn's mission to the asteroid belt provided scientists with a wealth of data and images that helped to improve our understanding of this region of our solar system. It helped to confirm the theory that the asteroid belt was once a much larger and more active region, and provided evidence for the formation of some of the largest asteroids in the belt.
Dawn's mission has paved the way for future missions to explore and study other small bodies in our solar system. The data and images collected by Dawn will continue to be analyzed and studied by scientists, providing new insights and discoveries for years to come. The end of Dawn's mission also marks the end of an era, as it was one of the first missions to use ion propulsion, a technology that is now being used in other spacecraft and is revolutionizing space travel.