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Dawn Dictionary
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Podcast from 2007 Dawn
Launch Educator Conference
+ Lecture on Framing Camera

First Images from the Dawn Framing Camera

Flight model of the framing camera for the Dawn mission before the last systems test at Max Planck Institute for Solar System Exploration. Credit: NASA/JPL/MPS/DLR/IDA + Enlarge image + Lecture on Framing Camera		Figure 1: On October 18, 2007, during its first operation in space, Dawn's framing camera imaged a star field as part of a set of tests. Credit: NASA/JPL/MPS/DLR/IDA  + Read more     + Enlarge image   + Original capture		Figure 2: This view in the southern constellation Carina was acquired on December 13, 2007 as part of the characterization tests of the Framing Camera. The false-color view is a composite of images at 430 nm (violet), 650 nm (red), and 980 nm (infrared). The cluster of stars in the center is NGC 3532, and the nebula in the lower right is the Eta Carina Nebula (NGC 3372). Credit: NASA/JPL/MPS/DLR/IDA + Enlarge image
First Spectral Data from the Dawn Visible and Infrared Spectrometer
The Dawn Visible-IR Mapping Spectrometer (VIR) is capable of identifying the surface geology on a body by acquiring high spectral and spatial resolution data, as diagnostic minerals show absorption bands in the visible and near IR regions.		Figure 3: The VIR produces an image of the spectrum which is colored according to a specified color palette. + Read more     + In Depth		Figure 4: The VIR produces an image of the spectrum which is shown as a line plot or row profile. + Read more

Science Payload:

Framing Camera is the scientific imaging system of the Dawn Mission to the two complementary protoplanets, 1 Ceres and 4 Vesta.		Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, MPS, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany
				Credit: NASA/JPL
Visible & Infrared (VIR) Mapping Spectrometer instrument accomplishes the Dawn mission's scientific and measurement objectives of producing spectral images.		Italian IFSI-INAF (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica), Rome, Italy
Gamma Ray and Neutron Spectrometer is designed to measure elemental abundances on the surface of Vesta and Ceres		Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos NM
				Credit: LANL
Gravity Science Dawn's telecommunications system allows accurate measurements of the spacecraft's orbit from which scientists can determine the gravity fields of Vesta and Ceres.		Orbital Sciences Corp, Herndon, VA

• Images of Vesta and Ceres in three colors and black and white
• Full surface with mapping spectrometer in three bands, 0.35 to 0.9 micron, 0.8 to 2.5 micron and 2.4 to 5.0 micron
• Neutron and gamma ray spectra to produce maps of the surface elemental composition of each asteroid, including the abundance of major rock-forming elements (O, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, and Fe), trace elements (Gd and Sm), long-lived radioactive elements (K, Th, and U), and light elements such as H, C, and N, which are the major constituents of ices.
• Radio tracking to determine mass, gravity field, principal axes, rotational axis and moments of inertia.