NASA's Dawn spacecraft has made its way into the asteroid belt and will stay there for the remainder of its mission. Dawn was launched On September 27,2007 and first made entry into the asteroid belt for a brief period in June 2008 for about 40 days. Its orbit then carried the craft out of the belt. Now it will remain within the belt for the remainder of its mission.
The Dawn mission will study these two asteroids to learn about the formation of planets in our solar system. It will be the first ever to orbit two planetary bodies on a single voyage. There are considerable differences between Cera and Vesta. Vesta is thought to be made of rocky material then Ceres has more water bearing minerals and may contain large amounts of ice. Usually, objects that have icy materials are found in the outer reaches of the solar system. Scientists are interested in looking for any links between the formation of our planets, and as well is gaining a better understanding of the geology of these two bodies.
Now Dawn will remain in the belt and will make its way to two of the largest bodies within the belt, Vesta and Ceres. Dawn is expected to reach Vespa in 2011, a little under two years. Then it will depart in 2012 and head for Ceres in 2015.
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