Dawn Mission E-News

Watch Dawn's Dr. Marc Rayman live on NASA DLN

28 Apr 2012 00:35:26 GMT

Dr. Marc Rayman will be presenting on NASA's digital learning network (DLN) tomorrow, April 27, from 1:00 - 2:00 EDT! Join him as he describes the exciting Dawn mission, its two exotic destinations, and its use of ion propulsion-a technology that has mostly been in the domain of science fiction, now being used on Dawn.

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High School Pilot Teachers Wanted

25 Feb 2012 00:22:53 GMT

Launching: Dawn's Newest Curriculum Content Module

Are you interested in an opportunity for your class to be on the cutting edge of NASA space science? How about participating in a Dawn pilot study? Dawn Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) has developed a module of activities unpacking the concepts as to how Dawn's instruments gather and analyze data: Interactions of Energy and Matter: Dawn Instrumentation.

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Get the Skinny on Dawn's Mapping Orbits: Survey, HAMO, and LAMO

27 Apr 2012 20:55:51 GMT

Dawn has been busily charting Vesta at its Low Altitude Mapping Orbit (LAMO) since December. How does LAMO compare to other mapping orbits? Recall that Dawn caught up to Vesta last summer, moving into orbit around the asteroid as it cruised in its trajectory around the Sun. Since then, the spacecraft spiraled from its 2,700-kilometer (1060 miles) survey orbit to an altitude of about 700 km (42 mi) for the high altitude mapping orbit (HAMO). After weeks collecting data from that perspective, the spacecraft slipped to just 199 km (124 mi) from the surface of the asteroid for LAMO.

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Latest News From Dawn's Science Team

26 Dec 2011 18:23:03 GMT

Before last July, Vesta was only a series of modest images brought to us by the Hubble Space telescope, enough to tantalize and inspire the Dawn mission, but essentially an unexplored new world in our solar system.

Five months and thousands of images and other data downloads later, Dawn's science team is rising from intense work analyzing all the new information gathered during the survey and high altitude mapping orbits.

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What's the News From Dawn's Science Team?

6 Oct 2011 01:59:17 GMT

EXCITING!

It's hard to believe it's only been a couple of months since Dawn arrived at Vesta and began gathering science data in earnest. When Dawn completed its survey orbit in August, it had already returned hundreds of pictures covering the entire illuminated surface and millions of visible and infrared spectra, exceeding the objectives for this first scientific phase of the mission. The images returned to Earth have been stunning shots of amarvelous new world.

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Latest Dawn Mission Status Updates, August 1 News Conference, and Vesta Fiesta

28 Jul 2011 23:36:00 GMT

July News from the Dawn Mission

Tune in to NASA's news conference on Monday, August 1 where they will discuss the Dawn spacecraft's successful orbit insertion around Vesta on July 15 and unveil the first full-frame images from Dawn's framing camera, celebrate the beginning of Dawn's year-long exploration of new worlds by attending a Vesta Fiesta event in your neighborhood, and read the latest Dawn mission updates.

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The Latest and Greatest From Our Favorite Mission

18 Jul 2011 22:30:43 GMT

Vesta in 3-D on NASA TV

NASA and Dawn team members offered a great press conference June 23rd, updating us on Dawn's progress to date and upcoming mission events. Throughout the conference, we got hints of the thrilling science to come from the unexplored new world of Vesta.

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Dawn Science Team News, Mission Updates, and Vesta Fiesta

27 May 2011 17:26:06 GMT

Vesta, Here We Come

As Dawn speeds ever closer to Vesta, the Science Team is getting ready to start exploring, building upon careful plans, collaborating, and even taking excursions to extend our understanding of craters. Our meeting in Nordlingen, Germany earlier this month was a terrific location for the latter.

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Dawn Moves Into Orbit Around Vesta-Fiesta Time

25 Apr 2011 19:04:49 GMT

Hold the Dates!

In late July and August, Dawn moves into orbit around Vesta and we begin to explore this exciting new world up close. In the coming weeks, explore maps and get ideas at our Vesta Fiesta web page!

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Save the Date for Vesta Fiesta

8 Mar 2011 16:52:10 GMT

Thrill of Discovery Educator Workshops in 4 Locations

It is 2011 - NASA's Year of the Solar System. NASA's Discovery and New Frontiers missions are traveling vast distances to find answers to age-old questions. Dawn is just one of the celestial detectives highlighted in this cosmic road trip for educators of all grade levels. Share in the Thrill of Discovery!

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Dawn's New Website Launches

4 Feb 2011 18:02:38 GMT

Oh my, it's a... website! Accepting visitors now!

We are thrilled to announce the arrival of Dawn's new website. With a dynamic look and cutting-edge technology, Dawn's website helps you access even more of the terrific science and engineering underlying this mission. Just in time to be in the thick of the excitement of Dawn's approach to Vesta this summer.

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We urge you to ask your own questions! Ask a Scientist

Sneak Preview of Dawn Website's New Design, Planning Meeting Recap, and Dawn Journal Excerpt

17 Dec 2010 18:33:39 GMT

NASA's Year of the Solar System: A Family Affair

Our solar system is a family of planets, dwarf planets, comets, and asteroids (one jewel in that family - Dawn's Vesta!)orbiting our Sun. They share many common features, but each has unique personality traits.

Join NASA during December and January in exploring our planetary family tree. Conduct the Explore the Celestial Neighborhood ... in Your Neighborhood! activity and others that examine what a planet is and how we investigate planets. Observe the total lunar eclipse in December or simply note the change in lunar phases over the course of a month. Attend an observing session and view Jupiter through a telescope. There are many opportunities for you to find out more about our solar system's family tree!

Visit the Year of the Solar System website to find activities for classroom and informal learning environments,
night-sky viewing events and mission milestones, recommended resources, downloadable materials, and
more!

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We urge you to ask your own questions! Ask a Scientist

Time Travel, Student Activities, and the Year of the Solar System

16 Nov 2010 17:36:00 GMT

Time Travel in Our Very Own Time!

Inside the early solar nebula, the young Sun shone dimly in a swirling cloud of dust as the protoplanets formed. In the region now called the main asteroid belt, this planetary formation process was thwarted, leaving the infant planets a fraction of the size of Earth�and freezing them in planetary toddlerhood!

That means that Dawn�s expedition to Vesta and Ceres is also a journey back in solar system time.

Dawn�s a time traveler!

To learn why all this thwarting happened in the main asteroid belt, read the article The Main Asteroid Belt.

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We urge you to ask your own questions! Ask a Scientist

Dawn Mission Highlights, Recent Podcasts, and Multimedia Resources

2 Sep 2010 02:37:46 GMT

Never fear, DAWN IS HERE! And will be coming to you on a monthly basis Till arrival... and beyond!

Dawn is zipping on its trajectory to rendezvous with asteroid Vesta in the main asteroid belt in summer of 2011. Wait a minute, that's less than a year away! As you will read in this newsletter, Dawn scientists and engineers are preparing with great care and ingenuity for the spacecraft's approach to Vesta and the ensuing months when Dawn is in orbit and its instruments are gathering data.

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We urge you to ask your own questions! http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/ask_scientist/mailToDawnScientist.asp

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New Images of Vesta, Dawn�s Third Anniversary, and Community Happenings

20 Oct 2010 16:32:34 GMT

As we begin our year heralding Dawn's approach and arrival at asteroid Vesta, it only makes sense to begin at the beginning. The difficulty is - which beginning? When astronomers were able to discern Vesta in the night sky? Principal Investigator Chris Russell's first vision of a mission to visit the main asteroid belt? The launch of Dawn itself? The arrival of the first mission to orbit two asteroids?

Aw, why choose - let's do them all!

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We urge you to ask your own questions! Ask a Scientist

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E-Bulletin June 2010

13 Jun 2010 04:25:50 GMT

NASA's Dawn spacecraft Fires Past Record for Speed Change
A record for velocity change produced by a spacecraft's engines, set by NASA's first interplanetary spacecraft, Deep Space 1, was eclipsed on June 5, 2010, when Dawn's accumulated acceleration over the mission exceeded 4.3 kilometers per second!

"I am delighted that it will be Dawn that surpasses DS1's record," said Marc Rayman, chief engineer for the Dawn mission and a previous project manager for Deep Space 1. "It is a tribute to all those involved in the design and operations of this remarkable spacecraft."

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We urge you to ask your own questions! http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/ask_scientist/mailToDawnScientist.asp

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E-Bulletin May, 2010

18 May 2010 04:21:20 GMT

"Standard orbit, Mr. Sulu." Captain Kirk barks out the order with such confidence. He knows the USS Enterprise can slip in and out of planetary orbits with ease. But it's only easy in the realm of science fiction. In the real world, such maneuvers have been impossible - until now. You've read Dawn's chief engineer, Marc Rayman, wax poetic on the merits of Dawn's super fast, super fuel efficient ion propulsion engine before in his monthly Dawn Journal, right? Never quite like this! This is where science fiction swoops into reality. Marc Rayman - in turn with Captain Kirk - explains the wonder of ion propulsion. Informative and funny, don't miss it!

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We urge you to ask your own questions! http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/ask_scientist/mailToDawnScientist.asp

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E-News April, 2010

18 May 2010 04:12:34 GMT

NOVA is holding a favorite planet (or dwarf planet, as the case may be) contest and we want you to weigh in - for Ceres! Just what does fetching Ceres have going for it? That it's the only dwarf planet in the inner solar system? The way it hangs out in orbit around the Sun within the main asteroid belt? That Ceres' mass is great enough to pull off that lovely roundness (called hydrostatic equilibrium - whoa!) characteristic of a planet, unlike any of its fellow asteroids in the belt? That its high proportion of ices makes Ceres unique among those rocky bodies?

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We urge you to ask your own questions! http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/ask_scientist/mailToDawnScientist.asp

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E-News February 17, 2010

12 Mar 2010 20:35:19 GMT

The most prominent asteroid in the sky is currently yours for the perusing with binoculars -- and perhaps even the naked eye. Tonight, Wednesday, Feb. 17, Vesta, the first target of the Dawn mission, reaches what astronomers like to call "opposition." With Vesta at opposition, the asteroid is at its closest point to Earth in its orbit. Vesta is expected to shine at magnitude 6.1.

We urge you to ask your own questions! http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/ask_scientist/mailToDawnScientist.asp

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E-News December 15, 2009

15 Dec 2009 21:03:57 GMT

OK, Dawn�s arrived in the main asteroid belt � should we be worried? Is Dawn likely get smacked by, you know, an asteroid? �The short answer is “NO!�

Now that your worries are calmed, why don�t you visit Dawn�s Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section to find out why we don�t have to be worried for our intrepid spacecraft�s safety, as well as answers to other questions your fellow space enthusiasts have had.

Visit: http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/faqs.asp

We even urge you to ask your own questions! http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/ask_scientist/mailToDawnScientist.asp

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E-News August 26, 2009

26 Aug 2009 22:00:00 GMT

PSSST! Educators! It's August...and do we have Exciting classroom materials for You! Highlighting...

New hands-on activities that help Kids see the WOW scientists see!
The Dawn Mars Career Connections!
Dynamic On-Line Interactives
Engaging, Standards-aligned, Content Modules that give you everything you need
Compelling Mission News (as always!)
All make Dawn's Cutting Edge Science Come Alive!

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E-Newsletter April, 2009

28 Apr 2009 01:03:09 GMT

Mission Status: Dawn Continues in Quiet Cruise
March 30, 2009: Dawn coasted quietly in its new orbit around the Sun this month. Controllers
conducted some routine maintenance but devoted most of March to preparing for future special
activities. Learn about previous mission status updates at http://www.dawnmission.
org/mission/status.asp.

Live Shots: Where is Dawn?
Take a look at exactly where Dawn is in its trajectory to the asteroid belt, and note whether the ion
propulsion system is thrusting and the orientation of the spacecraft in near "real-time."
http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/live_shots.asp.

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E-Bulletin March 3, 2009

5 Mar 2009 14:45:26 GMT

JOIN US ONLINE SATURDAY, MARCH 7 FOR THE NASA DAWN MARS FLYBY EDUCATOR WORKSHOP WEBINAR!

Join NASA Dawn mission scientists along with educators from around the country in a set of convergent workshops. Dawn's lead mission scientists and chief engineer will share key updates, an overview of Dawn's science and instrumentation, and how the mission will inform us of the origins of the solar system as a part of the larger, site specific workshops.

The Dawn Mars Flyby Webinar will highlight the scientists' presentations.

Webinar Agenda:

* 9:30-10:00 (PST)-Chris Russell, Dawn Principal Investigator

* 10:15-10:45 (PST)-Carol Raymond, Dawn Deputy Principal Investigator

* 10:45-11:15 (PST)-Marc Rayman, Dawn Chief Engineer

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E-Bulletin February 17, 2009

18 Feb 2009 06:00:43 GMT

Launched in September of 2007, and propelled by any one of a trio of hyper-efficient ion engines,
NASA's Dawn spacecraft passed the orbit of Mars last summer. At that time, the asteroid belt (where
Dawn's two targets, asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres reside), had never been closer. In early July the spacecraft began to lose altitude, falling back towards the inner solar system. Then on October 31, 2008, after 270 days of almost continuous thrusting, the ion drive turned off.

"Not only are our thrusters off and are we dropping in altitude, we are plunging toward Mars," said Marc Rayman, the Dawn project's chief engineer from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "And everybody here on Dawn could not be happier."

Read more....

To read NASA's Dawn Mission News Release in full, go to:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/dawn/news/dawnf-20090212.html

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E-Bulletin January 30, 2009

3 Feb 2009 00:11:05 GMT

Dawn Mars Flyby Workshop--Join us at One of Our Four locations--or online

Four locations:
�� Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA
�� Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), Portland, OR
�� Career Education Center (CEC), Denver Public Schools (DPS), Denver, CO
�� NASA IV and V Facility Educator Resource Center, Fairmont, WV

On March 7, 2009, from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., join Dawn scientists and engineers along with K-12 and informal educators from around the country in a set of unique, convergent workshops.

Dawn flies by Mars in February 2009, at which time the spacecraft will execute special maneuvers to shift its direction into the correct orbital plane for encountering its first�target, the asteroid Vesta. During the workshop, Dawn mission science and engineering teams will share key updates and information with conference participants.�Participants will explore interactive curricular materials and enjoy special, site-specific opportunities (touring JPL, for example) as part of this distinctive workshop.

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