6 Mar 2015

Dawning on Ceres: Nasa’s probe to visit dwarf planet

The US space agency’s Dawn mission is set to reach a historic milestone, when it becomes the first human-made probe to visit a dwarf planet after an eight-year journey.

Scientists are eagerly awaiting Nasa’s Dawn spacecraft enter an historic orbit, as it is set to become the first mission to successfully visit a dwarf planet on Friday.

The probe, launched in September 2007, has captured detailed images throughout its eight-year journey, most recently returning pictures of Ceres itself.

Read Tom Clarke's blog: new images of Pluto are about to reveal the true face of the dwarf planet

Images show numerous craters and unusual bright spots that scientists believe tell how Ceres, the first object discovered in our solar system’s asteroid belt, formed and whether its surface is changing. Some experts believe that the spots are the plumes of ice volcanoes.

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Ceres, named after a Roman goddess, is the largest body in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and is particularly significant since it was among several to be downgraded from a planet-like status.

Jim Green, director of Nasa’s Planetary Science Division at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, said: “Studying Ceres allows us to do historical research in space, opening a window into the earliest chapter in the history of our solar system.

“Data returned from Dawn could contribute significant breakthroughs in our understanding of how the solar system formed.”

As Dawn spirals down closer to Ceres, it will be able to take sharper pictures of the spots. Scientists will also look for signs of their appearance changing, which would indicate geological activity.

The probe, however, is not expected to work straight away. Rather, it will spend six week spiralling down to its first science orbit, expected around 23 April.