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Dawn Journal: Sixth anniversary of leaving Earth
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2013/09/28 06:29 CDT | 2 comments
On the sixth anniversary of leaving Earth to embark on a daring deep-space expedition, Dawn is very, very far from its erstwhile planetary residence. Now humankind's only permanent resident of the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, the seasoned explorer is making good progress toward the largest object in that part of the solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Ceres.
Two new ways to browse Vesta: 2. Vesta Image data browser
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/09/16 10:57 CDT
A few weeks ago I received an email pointing me to a really cool new map-based browser to Dawn's Vesta image data.
Two new ways to browse Vesta: 1. Vesta Low-Altitude Mapping Orbit (LAMO) Atlas
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/09/16 10:57 CDT
Last week was the European Planetary Science Congress in London, and there's been a lot of science news. One thing that caught my eye Friday was the publication of a new atlas for Vesta.
Dawn journal: Distant interplanetary adventurer
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2013/08/30 04:28 CDT | 1 comments
Traveling confidently and alone, Dawn continues to make its way through the silent depths of the main asteroid belt. The interplanetary adventurer is on its long journey to the uncharted dwarf planet Ceres, by far the largest of all asteroids.
Producing global views of Vesta from archival data
Posted by Björn Jónsson on 2013/08/21 12:18 CDT | 3 comments
Björn Jónsson produces beautiful color and 3D global mosaics of Vesta from Dawn's archival data.
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2013/07/30 01:12 CDT | 5 comments
Ion propulsion is not a source of power for Dawn. Rather, the craft needs a great deal of power to operate its ion propulsion system and all other systems. It needs so much that...we crave power!!
Dawn Journal: Breaking Velocity Records
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2013/07/02 10:26 CDT | 7 comments
The indefatigable Dawn spacecraft is continuing its extraordinary interplanetary flight on behalf of inquisitive creatures on distant Earth. Progressing ever farther from Vesta, the rocky and rugged world it so recently explored, the ship is making good progress toward its second port of call, dwarf planet Ceres.
Posted by Bill Dunford on 2013/06/25 04:38 CDT | 6 comments
Meet some worlds that were nearly shattered, literally.
Dawn journal: Thrusting to a new personal best
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2013/06/02 12:07 CDT | 2 comments
Dawn journal: A low-orbit shortcut to Ceres
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2013/05/02 02:11 CDT
Marc Rayman's latest Dawn journal explains why Dawn is currently closer to the Sun than both Ceres and Vesta.
Dawn journal: Staying warm en route to Ceres
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2013/03/30 10:05 CDT | 4 comments
Marc Rayman's latest Dawn journal explains the temperature adjustments engineers make to save power and keep the spacecraft warm.
Dawn journal: Revisiting orbital mechanics
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2013/03/01 09:02 CST | 1 comments
Now that Dawn has changed its speed by nearly eight kilometers per second, Marc Rayman revisits the concept of orbital velocity.
Dawn journal: Vesta's mountains, gorges and craters
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2013/01/31 06:09 CST | 1 comments
As Dawn continues thrusting toward Ceres, Marc takes a look back at the intrepid spacecraft's discoveries.
Dawn Journal: faraway viewing through the mind's eye
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2013/01/02 04:38 CST
As Dawn treks onward to Ceres, its path will cross within a few degrees of the moon as seen from Earth on Jan. 21-22.
Dawn journal: hydrazine haste makes waste
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2012/12/05 11:02 CST | 1 comments
By saving fuel, Dawn will arrive at Ceres in 2015 with about half of the 45.6-kilogram (101-pound) hydrazine supply it had when it rocketed away from Cape Canaveral.
Images from the long-awaited Dawn Vesta data set
Posted by Daniel Macháček on 2012/11/29 11:55 CST | 4 comments
A few days ago, the Dawn mission finally published their archival data. During the year of delay I often looked with anticipation to the Planetary Data System to check whether or not images were there, and I am delighted that they are finally available. Was the wait worth it? Definitely!
Planetary Radio: A Dawn MIssion Update
And a Video Tour of Marc Rayman's Space Collection
Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2012/11/20 12:36 CST
A Planetary Radio status report from the Dawn mission's Marc Rayman, accompanied by a fascinating video tour of Marc's at-home collection of space information and memorabilia.
Dawn Vesta Data is publicly available (for real this time!)
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/11/16 07:08 CST | 2 comments
After a false start earlier this year, the first chunk of Dawn Framing Camera data from Vesta has finally made it to the Planetary Data System. As a first step to understanding the data set, I've built some index pages to these cool images.
Dawn journal: scary-good ion propulsion
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2012/10/31 12:34 CDT
Dawn continues to raise its orbit en route to its 2015 date with Ceres. Also, Marc prepares his high-energy Halloween costume.
Dawn Journal: Five years since launch
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2012/09/27 03:37 CDT | 2 comments
On the fifth anniversary of its launch, Dawn is on the way to Ceres.
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