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

[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​

 

[mfb]

That would indicate that they have something big...

 

[OmCheeto]

That would indicate that they have something big...

Just looking at the image that Marcus posted in post # 847, I have many questions about what is going on.

Why are the cliffs in the upper left hand corner so smooth?

Is there some type of Martian type hydraulic sand flow going on?​

Why do some linear features look like cracks, and others look like rows of bouncing asteroid impact craters?

Are those "non-fracture looking ones" caused by incoming asteroids, or ejecta?
Do they differentiate like that due to the lighting, and are they all geographically pretty much the same?​

I'm hoping for some big sciencey answers. Or, in the least, non-layman speculation.

 

[1oldman2]

Why are the cliffs in the upper left hand corner so smooth?
Is there some type of Martian type hydraulic sand flow going on?Why do some linear features look like cracks, and others look like bouncing asteroid impact craters?
Are those "non-fracture looking ones" caused by incoming asteroids, or ejecta?
Do they differentiate like that due to the lighting, and are they all geographically pretty much the same?

What i find interesting in your questions is that even as a layman I noticed the same things you note here before coming to this post. I'll be tuning in regularly to see what explanations are given by the science community.
(I have added "sciencey" to my vocabulary) love the sound of that.

 

[OmCheeto]

...
(I have added "sciencey" to my vocabulary) love the sound of that.

You can blame that word on the movie:

Neil[/PLAIN] deGrasse TysonVerified account‏@neiltyson
My favorite line in "The Martian" trailer, uttered by Matt Damon, is “I’m going to have to science the dang out of this.”​

[PLAIN]https://twitter.com/neiltyson

If you can use it as a verb, why not an adjective?

 

[1oldman2]

After my last visit to this post I open my email and get an interesting NASA update, this "mons" has always caught my attention since the first images of it.
http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia20348/ahuna-mons-seen-from-lamo

 

[OmCheeto]

After my last visit to this post I open my email and get an interesting NASA update, this "mons" has always caught my attention since the first images of it.
http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia20348/ahuna-mons-seen-from-lamo
View attachment 96994

I wish I could give you 10 "thumbs up" for this.
After the general consensus of the white spots being salt deposits, Ahuna Mons has been my favorite "What the hell?..." landmark.

 

[OmCheeto]

My condolences, to anyone who threw away their red-blue 3d glasses., as, you're missing this...

 

[1oldman2]

I wish I could give you 10 "thumbs up" for this.
After the general consensus of the white spots being salt deposits, Ahuna Mons has been my favorite "What the hell?..." landmark.

I know what you mean. That landmark keeps reminding me of 2001 A space Odyssey and I can't help but wonder what A. Clarke would have thought about it.

 

[OmCheeto]

I know what you mean. That landmark keeps reminding me of 2001 A space Odyssey and I can't help but wonder what A. Clarke would have thought about it.

I remember when he passed away.
I was very upset with him.
I hadn't even started on my warp drive engine.

 

[mfb]

My condolences, to anyone who threw away their red-blue 3d glasses., as, you're missing this...

I have 3D glasses, but they work with polarization :(.
The shadows still give a reasonable idea of the terrain structure.

 

[marcus]

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​

That would indicate that they have something big...

Fair interpretation, helps to make sense of the delay in reporting GRaND spectroscopy data. Thanks OM and Mfb.

 

[marcus]

===Rayman===

March 7 -Dawn to Adjust Its Orbit

Dawn's exploration of Ceres is continuing to go extremely well. As explained in the February Dawn Journal, the flight team occasionally needs to adjust the spacecraft 's orbit to keep it synchronized with the intricate plans for observing the dwarf planet. They have now determined that Dawn should perform a set "orbit maintenance maneuvers" for this purpose. Mission controllers are now working on the details to send to the spacecraft , and it will use its famously efficient ion engine to thrust for almost 1.5 hours on March 9, then wait for 6.5 hours and then thrust again for shortly over an hour on March 10. It will perform two additional maneuvers on March 17 of just over an hour and just under an hour, with two hours between them.

==endquote==

 

[marcus]

It looks like the planned orbit adjustments will not be needed!==Rayman==

March 9 -Orbit Maintenance Maneuvers Deemed Unnecessary

Dawn is aiming its main antenna at Earth, transmitting its latest photos and other measurements of Ceres. It will resume collecting data this afternoon.

As the flight team was working on the details of the orbit maintenance maneuvers described in the March 7 status report, they determined that the current orbital parameters are satisfactory. Therefore, rather than take the spacecraft 's time away from observing Ceres to perform the maneuvers to achieve a small improvement in the orbit, they have decided to let it continue to point its sensors at the dwarf planet without these interruptions.

==endquote==

As of 1:20 pm this afternoon (10 March) DSN https://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html shows data transmission must be complete for now because Goldstone antenna#26 is tracking---getting a 10 bits per second signal from Dawn. It's as expected, Rayman said data would be finished by yesterday afternoon, 9 March.

 

[marcus]

as of 2pm pacific, Sunday 13 March, deep space network (DSN) shows Goldstone #25 transmitting data to Dawn. No down signal at the moment. Presumably that would mean Dawn has temporarily stopped taking observations and turned so as to point its main antenna at Earth. It may be going to transmit. Maybe we'll hear about this in a status update
http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html
The last one was 9 March, which was when the previous data transmission session completed.

As of 3:30pm pacific the data transmission was going two way. Dawn was sending to Goldstone#25 at 105 kilobits per second (consistent with it being data, tracking signals are more like 10 bits per second)

Normally these data transmission sessions last some 26 hours and then observations resume. If it follows that pattern I guess we might see observations being taken again by around 6pm Monday 14 . In any case we might hear from Rayman about it.

 

[OmCheeto]

hmmmm... Never heard of the "Collier Trophy" before.

About the Award
The Robert J. Collier Trophy is awarded annually "for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year." The list of Collier winners represents a timeline of aviation, as many of the awardees mark major events in the history of flight.
...

The JPL/Dawn team was awarded the trophy on Wednesday, March 9th, 2016.

[Edit]
And one more thing. JPL posted something interesting yesterday, so I thought it was something new. But it turns out it was released about a year ago. But then I checked, and no one has mentioned it(that I can find). So I thought I'd share it:

March 31, 2015—NASA has announced the release of Vesta Trek, a free, web-based application that provides detailed visualizations of Vesta, one of the largest asteroids in our solar system.​

 

[marcus]

Congratulations Dawn team! It's a well-deserved honor. Not the first they've received either.
https://www.nasa.gov/jpl/dawn/trophy-20140328/
Dawn was awarded the National Air and Space Museum Trophy in 2014

Here's a link to the press release
https://naa.aero/awards/awards-and-trophies/collier-trophy/collier-2010-2019-winners
Even though the announcement comes in 2016, what was just awarded was the
2015 Robert J. Collier Trophy

 

[mfb]

Even though the announcement comes in 2016, what was just awarded was the
2015 Robert J. Collier Trophy

It is for achievements in 2015, so it makes sense to call it 2015 trophy. Hard to tell who will make the greatest achievement in 2016 in March 2016.

 

[marcus]

Makes sense all right! Depends how you look at it. Sometimes annual prizes are named by the year they are awarded, rather than by when the achievement/work occurred, so I just wanted to make it clear that's not the case here.

 

[marcus]

as of 2pm pacific, Sunday 13 March, deep space network (DSN) shows Goldstone #25 transmitting data to Dawn. ...
As of 3:30pm pacific the data transmission was going two way. ...

Normally these data transmission sessions last some 26 hours and then observations resume. If it follows that pattern I guess we might see observations being taken again by around 6pm Monday 14 March . ..

Just checked DSN and the site was down , blank screen :-(
Yes! just checked again, 9:20 pm pacific 14 March and Dawn's down signal was just 10 bits per second, for tracking. It had resumed observations.

 

[marcus]

==Rayman==

March 15 -Dawn Maintaining Its Productive Exploration Routine

With its suite of sensors pointed at the alien landforms 240 miles (385 kilometers) beneath it, Dawn is collecting more data as it orbits Ceres. It sent its latest findings to Earth on March 13 and 14.
==endquote==

 

[1oldman2]

Noticed several articles today about the changing light reflected when observed from the HARPS instrument at La Silla, Chili. Interesting theory on the sublimation and refreezing of gasses during the day/night cycle.
http://www.space.com/32282-ceres-bright-spots-changes-ground-telescopes-views.html

 

[marcus]

==Rayman==
March 18 - Dawn Concluding Another Week of Observations

After spending most of the week observing Ceres, Dawn paused this morning to point its main antenna at Earth. It is now radioing its precious data to the Deep Space Network. It will resume its measurements tomorrow around noon.
==endquote==

 

[1oldman2]

http://www.space.com/24368-dwarf-planet-ceres-photos-largest-asteroid.html

 

[OmCheeto]

The 47th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference is apparently underway. The Woodlands, Texas, March 21–25, 2016.

Tons of stuff being tweeted about Ceres. Even a picture of Occator's main bright spot!
Apparently JPL will be releasing images tomorrow.
But in the meanwhile. And don't tell anyone I did this:

source: https://twitter.com/Laurent_Montesi

There's an interesting whiteboard drawing on this guys page: https://twitter.com/jtuttlekeane
Look for the name: Anton Ermakov

Anton Ermakov- Occator is associated with a negative Bouguer anomaly; low density intrusion? ​

And what the heck?

Kimberly EnnicoSmith ‏@kennicosmith 14 hours ago
Castillo: #Ceres showing evidence for a lack of ice shell (not expected). The surface is rocky with a thick rock layer. #LPSC2016​

No ice shell?

[edit]
I forgot to mention:

Keri Bean ‏@PlanetaryKeri 1 hour ago
Keri Bean Retweeted NASA's Dawn Mission

Seriously though tune in for the press briefing tomorrow. I guarantee you won't regret it. #SCIENCE​

Keri Bean added,

NASA's Dawn Mission @NASA_Dawn
Exciting news tomorrow! For now: a pretty standard #Ceres scene http://go.nasa.gov/1pXzQzd

 

[1oldman2]

I'm particularly pleased with the profile view of the "mons"