1. Dawn NASA’s Dawn Mission Journey to the Asteroid Frontier Lucy McFadden, Co-Investigator Goddard Space Flight Center July 8, 2011 PA3 MSP 3 Summer Workshop 2011

2. Dawn The Dawn Mission

3. Dawn Traveling Back In Time

4. Dawn Dawn Explores the Earliest Epochs Vesta and Ceres are intact survivors of the earliest epoch of planetary formation.

5. Dawn CAIs Chondrules HED Differentiation Eucrites emplacement Planetesimal Differentiation Angrites Pallasite Mesosiderites Mars Earth Planetary Accretion # Beginning of the Solar System Vesta formed and Differentiate d

6. Dawn Vesta was linked to basaltic achondrite meteorites (HEDs) using reflectance spectra [ 1970, McCord ]. –Vesta and the HEDs share the same (basaltic) mineralogy. From geochemical analyses of these meteorites, we can make inferences about geologic processes on Vesta. –These include inferences about the presence of an iron core and ancient aqueous fluids. Vesta Meteorites Vesta is the only asteroid directly identified as a meteorite parent body. Fe 2+ in Pyroxene MgFe

7. Dawn The Asteroid Belt

8. Dawn Spacecraft Dry mass: 745 kg Wet mass: 1240 kg Solar array power (1 AU): 10.3 kW Solar array power (3 AU): 1.3 kW Delta II 7925H-9.5

9. Dawn Interplanetary Trajectory

10. Dawn Ion Propulsion Deep Space 1

11. Dawn Hydrazine tank 45 kg capacity Xenon tank 450 kg capacity Folded solar arrays Ion thruster 2.3 meters Ion Propulsion System

12. Dawn Mapping Global Topographic Maps Framing Camera techniques have been proven on many previous missions. The camera’s most recent heritage comes from Venus Express.

13. Dawn Map the Elemental Composition Gamma ray and neutron detector (GRaND) techniques have been proven on Lunar Prospector. GRaND’s most recent heritage is from Mars Odyssey

14. Dawn Map the Mineralogical Composition

15. Dawn Exploring New Worlds Vesta Dawn’s Itinerary The Dawn Spacecraft will travel 6.3 billion kilometers (almost 4 billion miles) In almost ten years To the asteroids, 4 Vesta and 1 Ceres. Ceres

16. Dawn Map the Gravity Field Vesta Gravity from Shape Model

17. Dawn Partners –University of California, Los Angeles Scientific Leadership –JPL – Jet Propulsion Laboratory Management and Navigation –Orbital Sciences Corporation Spacecraft design and build –Los Alamos National Laboratory GRAND instrument –DLR – German Aerospace Center Framing Camera –Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research Framing Camera –ASI – Italian Space Agency VIR –New Roads School, University of Maryland, and McREL Education and Public Outreach

18. Dawn Learn More! http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov

19. Dawn

20. Dawn

21. Dawn

22. Dawn Unlocking the Mysteries Science on the Edge of Our Solar System