NEW YORK: Dawn spacecraft of NASA will reach the dwarf planet Ceres on Friday. The spacecraft has covered eight-year long journey through space to reach destination. It will be the first successful mission of space if spacecraft reaches its destination and inserts itself into orbit.
The mission is expected to continue for 16 months as researchers analyze data about Ceres, which is thought to be icy and possibly contain an ocean. Studying the dwarf planet could yield new insights into how the solar system has progressed.
“Studying Ceres allows us to do historical research in space, opening a window into the earliest chapter in the history of our solar system,” Jim Green, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division said in a statement. “Data returned from Dawn could contribute significant breakthroughs in our understanding of how the solar system formed.”
As Dawn moved closer to Ceres, the probe was able to send photos back to Earth making out a gray, round mass in space. Each photo became clearer as Dawn closed in on the dwarf planet — and offered stunning new details of the dwarf planet’s cratered surface.
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