NewsAstronomy (Apr. 20, 2012) NASA's Dawn mission has received
official confirmation that 40 extra days have been added to its
exploration of the giant asteroid Vesta, the second most massive
object in the main asteroid belt. The mission extension allows
Dawn to continue its scientific observations at Vesta until Aug.
26, while still arriving at the dwarf planet Ceres at the same
originally scheduled target date in February 2015. "We are
leveraging our smooth and successful operations at Vesta to
provide for even more scientific discoveries for NASA and the
world." said Robert Mase, Dawn project manager based at NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "This extra time
will allow us to extend our scientific investigation and learn
more about this mysterious world." The extension will not
require any new funding, and will draw on financial reserves
that have been carefully managed by the Dawn project. The
flexibility provided by the spacecraft's use of efficient ion
propulsion system allows it to mai