Dawn: An Ion-Propelled Journey to the Beginning of the Solar System

Abstract

The Dawn mission is designed to perform a scientific investigation of the two most massive main-belt asteroids Vesta and Ceres. These bodies are believed to preserve records of the physical and chemical conditions present during the formation of the solar system. The mission uses an ion propulsion system to enable the single Dawn spacecraft and its complement of scientific instruments to orbit both of these asteroids. Dawn's three science instruments - the gamma ray and neutron detector, the visible and infrared mapping spectrometer, and the primary framing camera - were successfully tested after launch and are functioning normally. The ion propulsion system includes three ion thrusters of the type flown previously on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Deep Space 1 mission. A minimum of two ion thrusters is necessary to accomplish the Dawn mission. Checkout of two of the ion thrusters was completed as planned within 30 days after launch. This activity confirmed that the spacecraft has two healthy ion thrusters. While further checkout activities are still in progress, the activities completed as of the end of October indicate that the spacecraft is well on its way toward being ready for the start of the thrusting-cruise phase of the mission beginning December 17, 2007.