Solar-powered ion drive asteroid probe set for launch Not much
va-va-voom, but very economical NASA has confirmed that the
"Dawn" space probe to the asteroid belt will indeed launch on
Saturday, ending speculation that the mission might be delayed.
After launching, Dawn will spend four years in transit to the
asteroids, circling the Sun twice and gaining a "gravity assist"
on the way by making a close approach to Mars. Planned voyage of
the Dawn space probe In 2011, Dawn will go into orbit around
Vesta, one of the larger rock-like asteroids in the Belt. After
around five months studying Vesta, the probe will depart in
early 2012 and complete most of a further circuit round the Sun,
finally catching up with Ceres in 2015 and going into orbit
around it. Ceres is a large example of the other main asteroid
type, thought to be largely icy in composition. The Dawn mission
will be the first to go into orbit around a Belt asteroid, and
also the first to orbit two different bodies. This unusual
flight profile would be