Mars Gravity Assist Sends Dawn on its Way to Vesta and Ceres!
Dawn's interplanetary trajectory
This image shows the path Dawn takes from Earth, past Mars, to enter orbit around Vesta. After orbiting the Sun with Vesta, Dawn leaves Vesta to rendezvous with Ceres, and its primary mission ends in orbit there. Dawn’s trajectory is blue when it is spending most of its time thrusting and brown when it is spending most of its time coasting. For simplicity, the regular weekly interruptions in thrusting to point the main antenna to Earth are not shown after Mars.
+ Learn more about the end of thrusting in
the Oct., 2008 Dawn Journal
Dawn's Orbit Before the Mars
Gravity Assist
Dawn’s orbit (brown) is shown the way it would be with no ion thrusting after 2008 and with no effect of the gravity assist by Mars. Dawn actually flew in this orbit only from the completion of thrusting on October 31, 2008 until it was close to Mars in February 2009, but this depicts the orbit as it would be if it were allowed to continue. (A trajectory correction maneuver on November 20, 2008 made a difference too small to notice here.)
+ Read more about the Nov. 20 maneuver
+ How did the Mars gravity assist affect the shape of Dawn's orbit?
Dawn's Orbit After the Mars
Gravity Assist
Dawn’s orbit after the Mars gravity assist. Dawn’s orbit (brown) is shown the way it would be with no ion thrusting after the Mars gravity assist. Dawn actually will fly in this orbit only from the completion of the Mars encounter in February 2009 until the resumption of ion thrusting in June 2009, but this depicts the orbit as it would be if it were allowed to continue.
+ Read more about the February, 2009 Mars encounter
Dawn’s flight past Mars
The gravity of Mars bends Dawn’s orbit around the Sun, giving it a boost to help it reach Vesta and Ceres.
+ Read more about the tug of Mars on
Dawn's orbit
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accountability report
