I Dawn dead in Ceres orbit, ran out of fuel Oct 2018

[marcus]

This confirms what Om saw earlier via Twitter:
==quote Rayman update==
December 29, 2015 -Flight Team Preparing Small Adjustment to Orbit

Dawn remains in good health as it continues to take pictures and make other measurements of Ceres. As at Vesta, occasional small adjustments to its orbital motion will be required at this low altitude to keep it synchronized with the observing plan. The flight team is working on the detailed flight plan for the first of these "orbit maintenance maneuvers," scheduled for Dec. 31.
==endquote==

 

[mfb]

I hope they release better images of the bright spots soon, but I can imagine that they want to analyze them first.

 

[OmCheeto]

I hope they release better images of the bright spots soon, but I can imagine that they want to analyze them first.

From some back of the napkin calculations, it looks as though it now takes about 15 days to photograph everything near the equator.
So, I'm guessing, that if we're lucky, we will see images within a week.
If we are not so lucky, it may be a few months.

ps.
Interesting article about "methane" was pointed to by the Dawn team on Facebook about an hour ago:

Cold reaction has hot implications for evolution of life [American Geophysical Union]
Dec 15, 2015
Amy McDermott

When carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas mingle deep underground, they transform into methane and water—the building blocks of life.

Scientists once thought the reaction, called Sabatier synthesis, could only proceed above 150 degrees Celsius. Life, they thought, was conceived deep in the scalding vents of an ancient ocean. But the Sabatier process also runs cooler, finds a new study presented at the 2015 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. With the right catalyst, the reaction works at room temperature, the study found.

That means “life didn’t necessarily evolve in hot soupy seas at mid-ocean ridges,” said Giuseppe Etiope, a senior geologist at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in Rome and lead author of the study. “It also could have evolved in continents—in the rocks.”
...

‑Amy McDermott is a graduate student in the Science Communication program at UC Santa Cruz. You can follow her on twitter at @amygmcdermott.

 

[mfb]

There are also hot rocks. Temperature is not the only reason hydrothermal vents are interesting.

 

[marcus]

http://dawnblog.jpl.nasa.gov/2015/12/31/dawn-journal-december-31/

DECEMBER DAWN JOURNAL IS OUT!

This journal entry is unusually visually rich with many stunning and fascinating images of Ceres' surface. Do check it out!
But it also has this about the GRaND data being taken:
==quote Rayman==
...
With the spacecraft this close to the ground, it can measure two kinds of nuclear radiation that come from as much as a yard (meter) deep. The radiation carries the signatures of the atoms there, allowing scientists to inventory some of the key chemical elements of geological interest. One component of this radiation is gamma ray photons, a high energy form of electromagnetic radiation with a frequency beyond visible light, beyond ultraviolet, even beyond X-rays. Neutrons in the radiation are entirely different from gamma rays. They are particles usually found in the nuclei of atoms (for those of you who happen to look there). Indeed, outweighing protons, and outnumbering them in most kinds of atoms, they constitute most of the mass of atoms other than hydrogen in Ceres (and everywhere else in the universe, including in your correspondent).

To tell us what members of the periodic table of the elements are present, Dawn’s gamma ray and neutron detector (GRaND) does more than detect those two kinds of radiation. Despite its name, GRaND is not at all pretentious, but its capabilities are quite impressive. Consisting of 21 sensors, the device measures the energy of each gamma ray photon and of each neutron. (That doesn’t lend itself to as engaging an acronym.) It is these gamma ray spectra and neutron spectra that reveal the identities of the atomic species in the ground.

Some of the gamma rays are produced by radioactive elements, but most of them and the neutrons are generated as byproducts of cosmic rays impinging on Ceres. Space is pervaded by cosmic radiation, composed of a variety of subatomic particles that originate outside our solar system. Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field protect the surface (and those who dwell there) from cosmic rays, but Ceres lacks such defenses. The cosmic rays interact with nuclei of atoms, and some of the gamma rays and neutrons that are released escape back into space where they are intercepted by GRaND on the orbiting Dawn.
==endquote==

It also has the latest word on the BRIGHT SPOTS on some of the crater floors. They are not pure white, many have a slight blueish tinge. The best known, the Occator crater spots, have a faint reddish tinge. It might take an instrument more sensitive than the human eye to detect this--we might say it was just some tone of white. But the variation in color gives clues as to what salts are there. Rayman discusses this and how the spots might have formed. Magnesium sulfate (a compound somewhat akin to "epsom salts") is considered as a likely candidate.

Rayman also discussed the indicated presence of AMMONIA-BEARING minerals on Ceres' surface. Ammoniated clays---this was not expected and is very interesting. Also an important advantage is Ceres ever becomes a site for habitation and chemical industry.

Things seem to be going OK. This is a great mission! The targets (especially Ceres) and the solar powered ion propulsion technology were forward looking. I was worried Dawn might not make it down to this final nearest orbit and am very glad it seems so far to be operating as planned.

 

[marcus]

Besides the December 2015 Dawn Journal, we also have a new status update for 31 December:

==quote Rayman==
December 31, 2015 -Dawn Busy as Year Ends

Dawn is transmitting its latest Ceres observations, orbiting the dwarf planet while pointing its main antenna to Earth. This afternoon the spacecraft will use its ion engine to perform an orbit maintenance maneuver, which will keep its orbit matched with the plan for obtaining good coverage of the world beneath it. Following that, the probe will turn again to point its instruments at Ceres and resume collecting data.

The December Dawn Journal describes the highest priority scientific observations Dawn is conducting in this fourth and final mapping orbit.
==endquote==

 

[mfb]

[neutrons] constitute most of the mass of atoms other than hydrogen in Ceres (and everywhere else in the universe, including in your correspondent).

Uh. The human body has more weight from protons than from neutrons, and if we exclude hydrogen the difference is negligible. We are composed of 65% oxygen-16, 18% carbon-12, 10% hydrogen-1, 3% nitrogen-14, 1.4% calcium-40, 1.1% phosphorus-31 and 1.5% other isotopes.
Of this list, phosphorus is the only isotope with more neutrons (16) than protons (15). This tiny difference has no chance against the 10% mass from hydrogen (pure protons). The 0.15% mass difference between protons and neutrons is negligible as well. Even if the 1.5% mass in the other isotopes would be pure neutrons, protons would win. Iron is the first element where the number of neutrons is significantly more (30 neutrons for 26 protons in the most frequent isotope), but its contribution to a human body is just 0.006%.

 

[marcus]

Uh. The human body has more weight from protons than from neutrons, and if we exclude hydrogen the difference is negligible. We are composed of 65% oxygen-16, 18% carbon-12, 10% hydrogen-1, 3% nitrogen-14, 1.4% calcium-40, 1.1% phosphorus-31 and 1.5% other isotopes.
Of this list, phosphorus is the only isotope with more neutrons (16) than protons (15). This tiny difference has no chance against the 10% mass from hydrogen (pure protons). The 0.15% mass difference between protons and neutrons is negligible as well. Even if the 1.5% mass in the other isotopes would be pure neutrons, protons would win. Iron is the first element where the number of neutrons is significantly more (30 neutrons for 26 protons in the most frequent isotope), but its contribution to a human body is just 0.006%.

I like very much the critical checking of Rayman's statement in quantitative detail.
It inspires me to ask rather than take what he says for granted. Isn't it true though that most of the mass in an oxygen-16 atom is in the neutrons?
Just because neutrons are very very slightly more massive than protons?
Isn't that also true about carbon-12?
So Rayman says:
" neutrons constitute most of the mass of atoms other than hydrogen ... in your correspondent."

It seems true that if you reduce the human body to atoms and sort out and remove all the hydrogen atoms---so now you have all the atoms other than hydrogen in the body---then all or at least the overwhelming majority of those atoms have at least as many neutrons as protons. And so...

And so, by a slim majority, more than half of the mass of those atoms (other than hydrogen) IS IN FACT in the neutrons. So the neutrons constitute most of the mass of those atoms (other than hydrogen) by a very slim majority.

Rayman was just being playful I think, in veering off into near irrelevancy, but he may in a sense have been right.

 

[OmCheeto]

Nucleons, Neutrons... whatever.

I'm wishing Dawn, Dr. Rayman, and everyone, a Happy New Year!

 

[mfb]

Ignoring the technical issues with nuclear binding energy, something like 50.1% neutrons (half of the effect from the mass difference, the other half from phosphorus) - well, technically it is more than 50%, but "most"?

 

[marcus]

I certainly agree his wording ("most" of the mass) was ill-advised even if technically correct. "Most" suggests a substantial majority (at least to me and probably to most people) rather than a very slim majority like 50.1% versus 49.9%. Gives the wrong impression --- mostly a matter of nuance.

 

[marcus]

New status update from Rayman:

==quote==
January 4, 2016 -Dawn Concludes a Productive New Year's Weekend

After using its ion engine for almost 11 hours on Dec. 31 - Jan. 1 to adjust its orbit slightly, keeping it synchronized with the plan for mapping Ceres, the spacecraft resumed its observations. Since then, it has been taking more pictures and measuring spectra of infrared light and two kinds of nuclear radiation. It has also been sending a radio signal that engineers and scientists use to track its orbit in order to map the interior structure of the dwarf planet. (The radiation and orbit measurements are explained in the most recent Dawn Journal.)

This afternoon the spacecraft will turn to point its main antenna to Earth and then spend about a day transmitting its latest results. Tomorrow afternoon it will turn once again to aim its sensors at the rocky, icy ground and collect more data until its next pause on Jan. 8
==endquote==

So Dawn is pausing for transmission much more frequently now. It used to pause about once a week, in HAMO. I came to expect a pause (for some 25 hours) to happen around Thursday.
Now apparently it paused on afternoon 4 Jan, and will resume taking data on afternoon 5 Jan.

Rayman says the next pause will start on 8 Jan. So that suggests a pause starts every 4 days: 4 Jan, 8 Jan, 12 Jan, etc.
That suggests that Dawn is taking data at such a high rate it fills up its memory in about 3 days of observation and then needs a day or so to send it to us.

 

[OmCheeto]

I certainly agree his wording ("most" of the mass) was ill-advised even if technically correct. "Most" suggests a substantial majority (at least to me and probably to most people) rather than a very slim majority like 50.1% versus 49.9%. Gives the wrong impression --- mostly a matter of nuance.

Did we both, really, do the math? Or did you know that off the top of your head?

 

[mfb]

I did the math.

Uh. The human body has more weight from protons than from neutrons, and if we exclude hydrogen the difference is negligible. We are composed of 65% oxygen-16, 18% carbon-12, 10% hydrogen-1, 3% nitrogen-14, 1.4% calcium-40, 1.1% phosphorus-31 and 1.5% other isotopes.
Of this list, phosphorus is the only isotope with more neutrons (16) than protons (15). This tiny difference has no chance against the 10% mass from hydrogen (pure protons). The 0.15% mass difference between protons and neutrons is negligible as well. Even if the 1.5% mass in the other isotopes would be pure neutrons, protons would win. Iron is the first element where the number of neutrons is significantly more (30 neutrons for 26 protons in the most frequent isotope), but its contribution to a human body is just 0.006%.

Ignoring the technical issues with nuclear binding energy, something like 50.1% neutrons (half of the effect from the mass difference, the other half from phosphorus) - well, technically it is more than 50%, but "most"?

 

[marcus]

Bravo OM! I just took the 50.1% that Mfb mentioned. Assumed it was about right and took his word for it. You actually did the computation and tabulated the results! It's instructive for us to see a table like that---inventorying the atoms in the human body. Must have been a fair amount of work. Thanks for taking the trouble! Here's Mfb's post.

Ignoring the technical issues with nuclear binding energy, something like 50.1% neutrons (half of the effect from the mass difference, the other half from phosphorus) - well, technically it is more than 50%, but "most"?

 

[OmCheeto]

I did the math.

But you didn't share the data.

As I recall, I corrected a couple of people's math's about a year ago.
The fact that my maths has been corrected 100 time more often, is irrelevant.

[edit]

Hi [Om},

Happy new year.

I stand by my statement. Most means "greatest in amount or degree" according to my dictionary. It does not require that it be greatest by some significant amount. I consider "most" to be quite correct.

Marc

 

[marcus]

It's nice you checked with Rayman and got a response. Still just a question of nuance which needn't interfere with our general happiness with Dawn's performance in LAMO, the new orbit.
I see that Goldstone antenna#14 is still receiving data at 125 kilobit per second. According to Rayman that should stop sometime this afternoon (he usually talks pacific time, it's 1PM now) and the probe should resume observation.

 

[OmCheeto]

It's nice you checked with Rayman and got a response. Still just a question of nuance which needn't interfere with our general happiness with Dawn's performance in LAMO, the new orbit.
I see that Goldstone antenna#14 is still receiving data at 125 kilobit per second. According to Rayman that should stop sometime this afternoon (he usually talks pacific time, it's 1PM now) and the probe should resume observation.

I've had about a thousand questions I wanted to ask, but they were mostly trivial, so I gave him a break.

Why hasn't the MYSTIC simulator been updated since December 26th? Is it broken? Is it wrong? Has Dawn been flung off by some gravitational anomaly into deep space?
What the hell is a gravitational quadrupole? Are there quintrupoles? What about duodecotrupoles?
What are you going to do with yourself when the mission is over?
Why is science so much fun?
When are we going to see a picture of Ahuna Mons?
Why is my breakfast getting cold?
etc, etc, etc...​

 

[mfb]

What the hell is a gravitational quadrupole? Are there quintrupoles? What about duodecotrupoles?

Only even numbers (apart from the monopole, which is the total mass).
Multipole expansion, Spherical multipole moments

 

[marcus]

As advertised the pause for data transmission that started on the afternoon of the 4th ended this afternoon (probably about 25 hours later). I checked DSN at 6pm pacific and there was just a tracking signal (10 bits per second) being monitored by Goldstone antenna#26.

...
Rayman says the next pause will start on 8 Jan. So that suggests a pause starts every 4 days: 4 Jan, 8 Jan, 12 Jan, etc.
That suggests that Dawn is taking data at such a high rate it fills up its memory in about 3 days of observation and then needs a day or so to send it to us.

 

[marcus]

Since we just turned a page I'll bring forward some stuff as a reminder of some of what we are watching:
==quote post#806==
http://dawnblog.jpl.nasa.gov/2015/12/31/dawn-journal-december-31/

DECEMBER DAWN JOURNAL IS OUT!

This journal entry is unusually visually rich with many stunning and fascinating images of Ceres' surface. Do check it out!
But it also has this about the GRaND data being taken:
==quote Rayman==
...
With the spacecraft this close to the ground, it can measure two kinds of nuclear radiation that come from as much as a yard (meter) deep. The radiation carries the signatures of the atoms there, allowing scientists to inventory some of the key chemical elements of geological interest. One component of this radiation is gamma ray photons, a high energy form of electromagnetic radiation with a frequency beyond visible light, beyond ultraviolet, even beyond X-rays. Neutrons in the radiation are entirely different from gamma rays. They are particles usually found in the nuclei of atoms (for those of you who happen to look there). Indeed, outweighing protons, and outnumbering them in most kinds of atoms, they constitute most of the mass of atoms other than hydrogen in Ceres (and everywhere else in the universe, including in your correspondent).

To tell us what members of the periodic table of the elements are present, Dawn’s gamma ray and neutron detector (GRaND) does more than detect those two kinds of radiation. Despite its name, GRaND is not at all pretentious, but its capabilities are quite impressive. Consisting of 21 sensors, the device measures the energy of each gamma ray photon and of each neutron. (That doesn’t lend itself to as engaging an acronym.) It is these gamma ray spectra and neutron spectra that reveal the identities of the atomic species in the ground.

Some of the gamma rays are produced by radioactive elements, but most of them and the neutrons are generated as byproducts of cosmic rays impinging on Ceres. Space is pervaded by cosmic radiation, composed of a variety of subatomic particles that originate outside our solar system. Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field protect the surface (and those who dwell there) from cosmic rays, but Ceres lacks such defenses. The cosmic rays interact with nuclei of atoms, and some of the gamma rays and neutrons that are released escape back into space where they are intercepted by GRaND on the orbiting Dawn.
==endquote==

It also has the latest word on the BRIGHT SPOTS on some of the crater floors. They are not pure white, many have a slight blueish tinge. The best known, the Occator crater spots, have a faint reddish tinge. It might take an instrument more sensitive than the human eye to detect this--we might say it was just some tone of white. But the variation in color gives clues as to what salts are there. Rayman discusses this and how the spots might have formed. Magnesium sulfate (a compound somewhat akin to "epsom salts") is considered as a likely candidate.

Rayman also discussed the indicated presence of AMMONIA-BEARING minerals on Ceres' surface. Ammoniated clays---this was not expected and is very interesting. Also an important advantage is Ceres ever becomes a site for habitation and chemical industry.

Things seem to be going OK. This is a great mission! The targets (especially Ceres) and the solar powered ion propulsion technology were forward looking. I was worried Dawn might not make it down to this final nearest orbit and am very glad it seems so far to be operating as planned.
==endquote==

There is an interesting interactive page of graphics that explains in part how the GRaND instrument aboard Dawn is able to give numerical estimates or in some cases lower limits on the abundances of a dozen or so elements in Ceres surface material. This was discussed some in post#801, which gave a link.

...
Reminding people that a major new feature of Dawn's data gathering at this lowest orbit is the GRaND instrument, which can get a handle on chemical element abundances in the surface material.
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/dawn/swf/GRAND/Grand_animation.swf
What this gives, after a few seconds, is a more elaborate and informative version of this simple graphic posted earlier
View attachment 93794
and some idea how the instrument itself works to identify characteristic radiation coming from the surface.

 

[marcus]

New update from Marc Rayman
==quote==
January 8, 2016 -Dawn to Perform Small Orbit Maintenance Maneuvers

After devoting much of the week to observing Ceres, Dawn will execute a pair of burns with its ion engine today to modify its orbit. Starting a little after 1:00 PM, the ship will thrust for less than two hours, wait about six hours as it continues to revolve around Ceres and then thrust again for less than two hours, finishing around 11:00 PM. With its uniquely efficient and gentle ion engine, these small orbit maintenance maneuvers will keep the explorers' orbital motion aligned with the plan the flight team has devised for systematically studying the alien world from this low orbital altitude of 240 miles (385 kilometers). Dawn will spend most of the weekend sending its pictures and other data to Earth. When it has finished on the morning of Jan. 10, it will begin collecting still more data.
==endquote==
Here's the interactive graphic you get (after a brief animation) when you click on
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/dawn/swf/GRAND/Grand_animation.swf

There are 10 or more pop-up explanatory messages (little essays) you get
e.g by hovering over any of the green text:
Fast neutrons
Thermal and epithermal...
Gamma rays
or e.g. from the numbered blue dots 1 thru 5:
Natural radioactivity
Moderation
Neutron capture
Inelastic collision
or by clicking on one of the yellow dots:
Overview
dot #6
dot #7
But what I put here is not interactive, it is just a screen shot of what you see when you click on the above link.
===================
Going by Rayman's update the orbit adjustment maneuver was completed 11PM pacific on 8 Jan. Then data transmission, to be completed by morning of 10 Jan, when the probe resumes observation.

 

[marcus]

January 11, 2016 -Dawn Hard at Work Observing Ceres

After completing its orbit maintenance maneuver on Jan. 8, Dawn spent much of the weekend with its main antenna aimed at Earth as it revolved around Ceres, beaming its latest data to NASA's Deep Space Network. Then around 9:00 AM PST on Jan. 10, the spacecraft turned to point its science instruments at the ground beneath it and resumed its program of observations of the dwarf planet. It will continue until 7:00 PM PST on Jan. 13, when it is scheduled once again to start transmitting the precious measurements stored in its memory.

 

[marcus]

Good news about the reaction wheels and hydrazine usage!
==quote==
January 15, 2016 -Dawn Maintaining its Productive Pace

Dawn used its main antenna for about 26 hours on Jan. 13 and 14 to transmit a wealth of data to Earth. Now the spacecraft is taking more photographs and other scientific measurements while orbiting about 240 miles (385 kilometers) above Ceres’ surface.

Dawn is healthy and continuing to operate smoothly. The two reaction wheels that were activated on Dec. 14 have been functioning well, and the consumption of hydrazine propellant (used in combination with the reaction wheels to control the probe's orientation) is very good.
==endquote==
http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html

Simview seems to have started up again

[EDIT: for example
19 Jan 17:51 UTC 42º to Npole, 360.16 km
19 Jan 18:15 UTC 10º to Npole, 356.72 km
20 Jan 21:08 UTC 42º to Npole, 359.31 km
20 Jan 21:32 UTC 12º to Npole, 356.46 km
20 Jan 21:56 UTC 16º from Npole, 357.01 km
21 Jan 02:41 UTC 40º to Npole, 357.53 km]

 

[Zeno Ether]

Still no news about Occator?

 

[marcus]

A consensus seems to have developed that the bright spots in the crater floors are salt (not, for example, ice).
Based on optical and IR spectroscopy one prominent guess is magnesium sulfate.
There are differences in the spectra imperceptible to human eye---e.g. two spots might look white to us, or the same gray tone, but one have a slight reddish tinge and the other a bluish tinge which the instrument could detect.

Occator bright spots are faintly reddish while many of the others are bluish.

I would say there has been no news since the Dawn Journal of 31 December. And the chemical composition (and origin) of the bright spots are unsolved puzzles.
About all people agree on, for now, is salt .

Significantly, a lot of GRaND data has been taken and transmitted (gammaray and neutron spectral data) but so far no preliminary report on this released.
http://dawnblog.jpl.nasa.gov/2015/12/31/dawn-journal-december-31/

 

[marcus]

http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html
==quote==
January 19, 2016 -Dawn About to Resume Observing Ceres

The spacecraft spent the weekend filling its computer memory with more Ceres data, and it has been sending those findings to NASA's Deep Space Network since yesterday morning. Shortly after noon PST today, it will resume its observations.

Meanwhile, the flight team is using the latest navigational measurements to determine Dawn's orbit very accurately and calculate what it will be for the next few weeks. Based on these and other analyses, the mission director will decide tomorrow whether Dawn should perform an orbit maintenance maneuver. If so, mission planners already have windows in Dawn's intricate schedule on Jan. 23-24 and Jan. 31-Feb. 1. (Orbit maintenance maneuvers in this low altitude orbit are always done in pairs separated by about eight days.)
==endquote==

 

[marcus]

a new status update
==quote==
January 21, 2016 -Dawn Collecting Data with Good Orbital Accuracy

Dawn remains healthy and productive, taking photos and spectra of Ceres. It will continue doing so until Jan. 22, when it is scheduled to transmit more of its precious data to Earth.

The spacecraft 's orbit around the dwarf planet is close enough to what mission planners had specified for this period that it is not necessary to perform the pair of orbit maintenance maneuvers described in the Jan. 19 mission status update. Instead, the spacecraft will continue pointing its sensors at Ceres during the windows that were scheduled for the maneuvers. The next decision on whether to perform orbit maintenance maneuvers will be in three weeks.
==endquote==

Incidental check on the simulation:
[22 Jan 00:50 UTC, 12º to N pole, 356.50 km
22 Jan 17:38 UTC, 16º from N pole, 358.71 km]
Checking at DSN as of 22 Jan 10am pacific, the data transmission planned for today hasn't started yet,
so far just the usual 10 bit per second tracking signal (to Madrid#55)

 

[marcus]

==Rayman seems to be in a mood to take stock==
January 25, 2016 -Dawn's High Resolution Observations Continue

After concluding its telecommunications session on Jan. 23, Dawn brought Ceres back into its sights. It has been collecting more data since then as it circles the dwarf planet at an average altitude of 240 miles (385 kilometers).

One year ago today, the spacecraft was 147,000 miles (237,000 kilometers) from Ceres, using its ion engine to approach the alien world. Later in the day, it took its second set of pictures to navigate to the uncharted destination. Those were its photos to surpass the resolution provided by the Hubble Space Telescope. Now Dawn's sharp pictures show about 830 times the detail that Hubble's images revealed. The Jan. 29, 2015, Dawn Journal described the navigation pictures and even looked ahead to the improvement we would achieve in the current low altitude orbit. The last year has been a fantastic period of discovery.
==endquote==

Data transmission seems to proceed, roughly speaking, on a 4 and 1/2 day cycle. For instance the 21 Jan update mentioned:
"... taking photos and spectra of Ceres. It will continue doing so until Jan. 22, when it is scheduled to transmit more of its precious data to Earth."
Transmission takes about 26 hours so would have lasted for a fair chunk of 22 and 23 Jan. We can guess the next telecommunication session is happening some 4 and 1/2 days later--- 27 Jan which is today. I just checked DSN and it showed Dawn transmitting to Goldstone at 125 kilobit per second. (2:45 pm pacific)

[Update: as of 12:20 pm pacific 28 Jan, still transmitting data---62.5 kilobit per second.]
[Update: as of 6:50 pm pacific 28 Jan, no transmission.]

 

[Zeno Ether]

Still Occator is strangely neglected (although the bright spots are one of the strangest features encountered in the Solar System, so far).

 

[marcus]

January Journal is out!
http://dawnblog.jpl.nasa.gov/2016/01/31/dawn-journal-january-31/

 

[OmCheeto]

Still Occator is strangely neglected (although the bright spots are one of the strangest features encountered in the Solar System, so far).

I made a prediction about a month ago, regarding when we would see the new images of Occator:

From some back of the napkin calculations, it looks as though it now takes about 15 days to photograph everything near the equator.
So, I'm guessing, that if we're lucky, we will see images within a week.
If we are not so lucky, it may be a few months.

Unfortunately, I didn't start following Dawn until it was approaching Ceres, and missed the entire Vesta portion of the adventure, and wasn't aware of the ratio of image collection time to data transmission time. I was going to ask Marc about it, but decided he would think I was just being lazy, not wanting to go over the Vesta era journals.

But in his typical; "I wonder what OmCheeto is going to ask me next" fashion, he answered both of my questions:

Dawn spends about three and a half days (nine Cerean days) with its camera and other sensors pointed at Ceres. Then it radioes its findings home for a little more than one day (almost three Cerean days). During these communications sessions, even when it soars over lit terrain, it does not observe the sights below.

Mission planners have devised an intricate plan that should allow nearly complete coverage in about six weeks.

Now, my "15 days" may not look very close to Dr. Rayman's "six weeks", but I left out the fact that "15 days" would be "best case", for impatient people, like me and you.

Marcus, is it my imagination, or was it not the original plan that Dawn would do 3 complete surveys over six months?

 

[mfb]

The new Dawn journal has a new animation of Occator.

There is no guarantee that we get close-up images as soon as they are available. The scientists involved in the mission have a strong interest in publications about it - before anyone else writes them. If the images show something really surprising, we'll probably have to wait a bit.

 

[marcus]

nothing special, it seems
===status update for 1 Feb===

February 1, 2016 -Dawn Mapping Proceeds Flawlessly

Dawn continues to operate flawlessly in its final mapping orbit around Ceres. The spacecraft is pointing its main antenna at Earth today, transmitting its latest pictures and other data. It will resume its observations tomorrow shortly before 10:00 AM PST.

The latest Dawn Journal describes some of the measurements Dawn is making to reveal the nature of the first dwarf planet discovered.

==endquote==
just business as usual.

It would be great to get some preliminary results from the GRaND instrument package on the chemistry of surface material. I can't believe they don't have some results already, that they could share.

This may relate to what Mfb just said. Observations, whether imagery (revealing geological and surface history) or gammaray spectroscopy (revealing chemical composition) may not be published immediately so as to first give scientists time to study them and draw conclusions.

 

[Zeno Ether]

So NASA is holding back information in order for scientists to publish their findings. Well, I'm tired of waiting for them to upload images of the spots. As I have already noticed, they have heavily photoshopped Occator imagery, and I think that in the process something went wrong and they erased important portions of the images. Now they are in LAMO but not a single photo of Occator has emerged so far. Well, someday someone will find out what has really happened.

 

[mfb]

So NASA is holding back information in order for scientists to publish their findings.

I would phrase it differently: they do not release all their raw data to the public immediately. Which is completely sensible. Raw data needs to be analyzed properly for scientific conclusions.

 

[marcus]

Rayman nicely addressed some of our concerns (which may well be more widespread.)
==new status update==
February 5, 2016 -Dawn Seeing More and More of Ceres

Dawn is gathering more Ceres data, circling the dwarf planet every 5.4 hours with its combined gamma ray and neutron detector, infrared mapping spectrometer and camera pointed at the landscapes beneath it. Meanwhile, it is transmitting a broad radio signal through one of its auxiliary antennas so we can track its orbital motion to improve measurements of Ceres' gravity field. Shortly after 9:00 PM PST today, the spacecraft will begin sending its results through its main antenna to Earth.

Dawn has photographed about 90% of Ceres from this low altitude orbit. Many people who share our fascination with that distant alien world ask about new pictures of the famous bright area (or famously bright area) at the center of Occator crater, but Dawn has not observed it yet. That is just the way the orbit has worked out. Mission planners did not design the orbit or the schedule of observations and telecommunications to view any specific targets. Rather, as mentioned in the January Dawn Journal, the team designed them so that over the course of six weeks, the probe would see most of the surface. As we will see in the February Dawn Journal, the first few weeks of LAMO don't contribute to this pattern, so the beginning of the six week period was January 10. By simple coincidence, Dawn will not have the opportunity to see Occator until the very end of that period. Therefore, we all wait patiently. After Occator is photographed, the standard process for releasing images will be followed. The need for accuracy and scientific review of the data sometimes slows the release of some products, but all of the data are released to the public after the science team has performed the necessary analysis and interpretation for scientific publication. It will be worth the wait!
==endquote==

"I think that in the process something went wrong and they erased important portions of the images."
I haven't noticed. Not sure I understand, could you give examples? It's easy to attach images to a post, which would show what you mean.

I did see that the the large bright spots became more "spotty" as the pixel size shrank down. To be expected. Also as they adjusted the contrast this changes the upper limit of gray-tone levels that "pin the needle" and go over the top---i.e. can no longer register as a gray tone and has to come across as blank white. So the big blank blobs broke up into a more complex pattern of small pixels.

This seems straightforward, please correct me if I'm misinterpreting or wrong about some of this.

 

[OmCheeto]

I'm actually more interested in seeing Ahuna Mons.
I should send Marc a nasty email about that, asking what they are hiding...

 

[marcus]

==Marc replied in a dignified and not especially informative manner==

February 8, 2016 -Dawn Continuing to Study Ceres

Aiming its suite of sophisticated sensors at the ground below, Dawn is orbiting closer to Ceres than the International Space Station is to Earth. The explorer is healthy and continuing to perform all of its duties.
==endquote==

I guess we should be thankful the probe is continuing taking all its readings according to plan. For me, this close-in final orbit is what it's all about and I just hope it can keep it up for several more months.

 

[marcus]

===new update from Rayman===
February 19, 2016 -Dawn Maintaining Productive Pace of Operations

Dawn has been collecting more data on Ceres this week with its camera and spectrometers, and all systems are working well. It will begin transmitting the results to Earth shortly before 1:00 PM PST today. The probe will resume observing Ceres a little after 4:00 PM tomorrow.
=====
So regular observations resumed 4 PM on 20 Feb. Sometime later when convenient I checked DSN (deep space network) and data transmission had ended. Dawn was transmitting a simple tracking signal, 10 bits per second. (for comparison, Dawn's data usually comes in around 125 kilobits per second)

 

[marcus]

==actually I'm really glad to have these regular updates from the Dawn mission director Marc Raman==

February 22, 2016 -Dawn's Exploration Continuing Smoothly

Orbiting Ceres at about 610 mph (980 kilometers per hour), Dawn circled the dwarf planet five times on Feb. 19-20 with its main antenna aimed at Earth, sending pictures and spectra to NASA's Deep Space Network. Following that, it returned to pointing its sensors at the ground beneath it and has been acquiring more data since then.
==endquote==

It seems like this LAMO phase of the mission, when highest resolution images, surface chemistry indications, and subsurface density formations are being recorded, is going quite successfully so far. Notwithstanding that several of us are eager to see some preliminary results on the chemistry (which have mostly not been forthcoming).

Still, http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/index.html?view=list_view&start=0
there have been some interesting high resolution images of surface features posted. these can give better ideas of subsurface tectonic processes and what the surface material is made of.

 

[marcus]

===business-as-usual update from Rayman===
February 26 -Dawn Sends Back More Valuable Observations

Dawn is wrapping up another good week in its final mapping orbit at Ceres. On Feb. 24-25, it returned a wealth of data including photos, nuclear spectra from its gamma ray and neutron detector and infrared spectra from its visible and infrared mapping spectrometer. It is collecting still more data now, which it is scheduled to send to Earth on Feb. 28-29.
==endquote==

the acronym for "gamma ray and neutron detector" is GRaND.
We'll be hearing more about the data collected by that instrument, I'm confident of that.
Ultimately beyond what we already know about Ceres (mass, temperature, surface plasticity, water content, rotation/shape...) it is the CHEMISTRY that will determine if the small planet will be an attractive site for subsurface chemical/materials manufacturing industry. Raw materials and manufacturing in low gravity is something humans haven't tried yet and could change the way we evaluate our possibilities.

 

[marcus]

DAWN JOURNAL IS OUT!
http://dawnblog.jpl.nasa.gov/2016/02/29/dawn-journal-february-29/

===update from Rayman===

February 29 -Dawn Surpasses Its Objectives

Dawn is transmitting its latest pictures and spectra to NASA's Deep Space Network today. Shortly before midnight tonight, the spacecraft will turn to point its sensors at Ceres again and resume its observations.

Dawn's long interplanetary adventure to explore two of the last uncharted worlds in the inner solar system has been extremely productive. The probe has successfully completed all of the measurements it was designed to make, fulfilling the objectives set for it many years ago. Nevertheless, it will continue to acquire data as it orbits the distant dwarf planet. For details, see the February Dawn Journal.

==endquote==

==EXCERPT from 29 Feb Dawn Journal==
...
...Even though Dawn has met its full list of objectives at Ceres, it continues to return new, valuable pictures and other measurements to provide even greater insight into this relict from the dawn of the solar system. For example, it is acquiring more nuclear spectra with its gamma ray and neutron detector, sharpening its picture of some atomic elements on Ceres. In addition, taking advantage of its unique vantage point, Dawn is collecting more infrared spectra of locations that are of special interest and soon will also take color photos and stereo photos (as it did in the third mapping orbit) of selected areas.
==endquote==
Note: The 31 December 2015 Dawn JOURNAL is especially informative and well-illustrated about what Dawn is doing now.
http://dawnblog.jpl.nasa.gov/2015/12/31/dawn-journal-december-31/
in particular about the gamma and neutron spectroscopy, but other things as well
http://dawnblog.jpl.nasa.gov/2015/12/31/dawn-journal-december-31/#radiation

Link to the cumulative image gallery;
http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/ceres.html

 

[marcus]

==Rayman==
March 4 -Dawn at Maximum Distance from Earth

As Dawn continues exploring Ceres, today it is at its greatest distance from Earth for the entirety of its extraordinary extraterrestrial expedition. It is more than 3.95 AU (367 million miles, or 591 million kilometers) from its original planetary home. Details and a diagram are in the February Dawn Journal.

Dawn will spend much of today and tomorrow radioing data to mission controllers. It will take the signals almost 33 minutes to travel from the spacecraft to Earth. The probe will resume its scientific observations early tomorrow afternoon.
==endquote==

Sample of the kind of images Dawn is now returning:
http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-detail.html?id=PIA20390

 

[OmCheeto]

==Rayman==
March 4 -Dawn at Maximum Distance from Earth

As Dawn continues exploring Ceres, today it is at its greatest distance from Earth for the entirety of its extraordinary extraterrestrial expedition. It is more than 3.95 AU (367 million miles, or 591 million kilometers) from its original planetary home. Details and a diagram are in the February Dawn Journal.

Dawn will spend much of today and tomorrow radioing data to mission controllers. It will take the signals almost 33 minutes to travel from the spacecraft to Earth. The probe will resume its scientific observations early tomorrow afternoon.
==endquote==

Sample of the kind of images Dawn is now returning:
http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-detail.html?id=PIA20390

"The image resolution is 118 feet (36 meters) per pixel."

That's about the length of my property. [66x110]
hmmm...
I've plotted my property inside the crater, in a bright pink.

I wish I were young enough to make an actual trip to Ceres, to kick around them cliffs.

 

[marcus]

I believe I see some small 'bright spots' in this one, in one of the scratches on the central crater floor and along the top of a ridge and a few other places where small patches of bright material have been exposed.
Do you see what I mean?

http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-detail.html?id=PIA20393

 

[marcus]

As a reminder of where Dawn has been for the past 8 years--the overall shape of the mission--here's a complete trajectory some may wish to refer to.
http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/live_shots.asp

 

[OmCheeto]

Happy first anniversary in Ceres orbit everyone!

 

[mfb]

1 Ceres "year" would be even better, but then we have to wait a long time to celebrate.

Pictures of the Occator crater should exist by now, so I'm really curious why they are not available yet. Did the white spots change? Or something else that needs more investigation?

 

[OmCheeto]

1 Ceres "year" would be even better, but then we have to wait a long time to celebrate.

Pictures of the Occator crater should exist by now, so I'm really curious why they are not available yet. Did the white spots change? Or something else that needs more investigation?

Per their entry on Facebook:

https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hprofile-xaf1/v/t1.0-1/p32x32/10407865_10152971606581560_1925656806933192592_n.jpg?oh=a33ed140abda8fe301b58253a9171c3d&oe=57612258
Cavaliere Quilargo "Happy Birthday- but more important: Where are the Pictures from 385Km distance from the occator crater? And what's the reason for this unbelievable delay"
22 hours ago · Edited
https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hprofile-xtf1/v/t1.0-1/c9.0.24.24/p24x24/11999018_750911745055286_1093856950355387861_n.jpg?oh=1e29e49a6fdd45b17e7d4e2a3ccf3aec&oe=575C5D3F
NASA Dawn Mission "When the science team submits results and hypotheses on findings to professional periodicals like Nature and Science and Icarus, there is an embargo on the content until publication. There are several due out this spring, so stay tuned. The process of science is painstaking, especially when visiting a new world for the first time. We appreciate your patience"!
57 minutes ago​