Dawn: A Journey to the Early Solar System

Embark on a captivating journey through the early solar system with this lecture by Lucy McFadden from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Explore the groundbreaking Dawn mission, launched in 2007, which studied Vesta and Ceres, the two largest objects in the asteroid belt. Discover how the spacecraft's cameras, spectrometers, and precise positioning revealed geological, compositional, and physical facts about these celestial bodies, shedding light on their 4.5-billion-year evolutionary history. Learn about the striking differences between Vesta and Ceres, including their size, density, composition, and impact history. Delve into fascinating details, such as the fact that one in every seven meteorites on Earth originates from Vesta. Gain insights into the mission's innovative ion propulsion technology, the search for moons around Ceres, and the significant findings that have reshaped our understanding of the early solar system. This comprehensive presentation, recorded live at the Space Telescope Science Institute, offers a unique opportunity to unravel the secrets of our cosmic neighborhood through an ambitious asteroidal adventure.