Marc Rayman convince his colleagues at NASA's Dawn spacecraft that is on the right track. "Schedule Dawn meeting with Vesta unchanged. Beginning in August we get a collection of knowledge," said Rayman, Chief Engineer and Manager of the Dawn mission, Thursday last week (July 7, 2011).
Indeed, on June 27, Dawn loses the impetus to get close to Vesta, the second largest asteroid the size of the State of Arizona. Apparently the electronic signal is lost from the circuit so that the valves that control fuel flow does not open properly. Three days of repair, spacecraft was recovered.
If nothing gets in the way, this Saturday (July 16, 2011) Dawn will be the first spacecraft orbiting Vesta, an asteroid 530 kilometers in diameter. Dawn Over the years, spent his time studying the space rock. Scientists hope Dawn mission will help them understand the early days of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago. Also the formation of rocky planets, like Earth and Mars.
"The body like Vesta is a building block," said Dawn principal investigator Christopher Russell of UCLA in the final press conference. "So, we'll go back and do some sort of investigation about our roots, the roots of the solar system."
Over the past four years Dawn exploring space after it was launched in September 2007. This vehicle has flown about 1.7 billion miles (2.7 billion kilometers). On July 1, Dawn adrift 53,400 miles (86 thousands km) from Vesta. Dawn will only be 9,900 miles (16 thousands km) from the asteroid Vesta when gravity arrested on July 16. At that time, Dawn and Vesta is about 117 million miles (188 million kilometers) from Earth.
To secure the process of encounter, Dawn uses ion propulsion system of low thrust. The spacecraft will begin to operate to give the data in early August.
Vesta is an asteroid large that many scientists classify it as a protoplanet. "The object of this space is actually the way to becoming a full-rocky planets," said Russell. However, the formation of Jupiter began churning out the asteroid belt and prevent it together again.
So, Russell continued, Vesta is a kind of time capsule, preserving some notes about how the solar system came together in 4.5 billion years ago. "As Vesta explore, we take a virtual trip back in time to the early solar system," said Carol Raymond, Dawn deputy principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.
During a year in Vesta orbit, Dawn will map the surface of the crater and conducted a study investigating the composition and geological history. This will be done from a different orbit, beginning 1,700 miles (2,700 km) above the Vesta to just 120 miles (200 km).
Dawn must finish its job in Vesta in July 2012. Because, after that, Dawn will find Ceres, the largest asteroid. Ceres is also known as a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt. Dawn must arrive at 605 miles (974 km) in Ceres in early 2015.
Dawn observations allow scientists to compare these two celestial bodies. They believe both are shaped by different forces.
"Dawn is a unique journey because it is the first mission to meet with the body intact so that no one, but two in the solar system," said Robert Mase, Dawn project manager at JPL. "This is the last two worlds in the solar system that we have not explored," he said.
*** [UWD | NASA | SPACE.COM | KORAN TEMPO 3590]
Marc Rayman convince his colleagues at NASA's Dawn spacecraft that is on the right track. "Schedule Dawn meeting with Vesta unchanged. Beginning in August we get a collection of knowledge," said Rayman, Chief Engineer and Manager of the Dawn mission, Thursday last week (July 7, 2011).
Indeed, on June 27, Dawn loses the impetus to get close to Vesta, the second largest asteroid the size of the State of Arizona. Apparently the electronic signal is lost from the circuit so that the valves that control fuel flow does not open properly. Three days of repair, spacecraft was recovered.
If nothing gets in the way, this Saturday (July 16, 2011) Dawn will be the first spacecraft orbiting Vesta, an asteroid 530 kilometers in diameter. Dawn Over the years, spent his time studying the space rock. Scientists hope Dawn mission will help them understand the early days of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago. Also the formation of rocky planets, like Earth and Mars.
"The body like Vesta is a building block," said Dawn principal investigator Christopher Russell of UCLA in the final press conference. "So, we'll go back and do some sort of investigation about our roots, the roots of the solar system."
Over the past four years Dawn exploring space after it was launched in September 2007. This vehicle has flown about 1.7 billion miles (2.7 billion kilometers). On July 1, Dawn adrift 53,400 miles (86 thousands km) from Vesta. Dawn will only be 9,900 miles (16 thousands km) from the asteroid Vesta when gravity arrested on July 16. At that time, Dawn and Vesta is about 117 million miles (188 million kilometers) from Earth.
To secure the process of encounter, Dawn uses ion propulsion system of low thrust. The spacecraft will begin to operate to give the data in early August.
Vesta is an asteroid large that many scientists classify it as a protoplanet. "The object of this space is actually the way to becoming a full-rocky planets," said Russell. However, the formation of Jupiter began churning out the asteroid belt and prevent it together again.
So, Russell continued, Vesta is a kind of time capsule, preserving some notes about how the solar system came together in 4.5 billion years ago. "As Vesta explore, we take a virtual trip back in time to the early solar system," said Carol Raymond, Dawn deputy principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.
During a year in Vesta orbit, Dawn will map the surface of the crater and conducted a study investigating the composition and geological history. This will be done from a different orbit, beginning 1,700 miles (2,700 km) above the Vesta to just 120 miles (200 km).
Dawn must finish its job in Vesta in July 2012. Because, after that, Dawn will find Ceres, the largest asteroid. Ceres is also known as a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt. Dawn must arrive at 605 miles (974 km) in Ceres in early 2015.
Dawn observations allow scientists to compare these two celestial bodies. They believe both are shaped by different forces.
"Dawn is a unique journey because it is the first mission to meet with the body intact so that no one, but two in the solar system," said Robert Mase, Dawn project manager at JPL. "This is the last two worlds in the solar system that we have not explored," he said.*** [UWD | NASA | SPACE.COM | KORAN TEMPO 3590]
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