Dawn Mission takes prof's research to asteroid belt

By Cynthia Lee

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA's Dawn spacecraft is on its way to study a pair of asteroids after lifting off Sept. 27 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station just after dawn.

Mission controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., received telemetry on schedule indicating that Dawn had achieved proper orientation in space and its massive solar array was generating power from the sun. During the next 80 days, spacecraft controllers will test and calibrate the myriad of spacecraft systems and subsystems, ensuring Dawn is ready for the long journey ahead.

Christopher T. Russell, professor of geophysics and space physics at UCLA, is the principal investigator of NASA's Dawn Mission, which will venture into the heart of the asteroid belt, where it will document in exceptional detail the mammoth rocky asteroid Vesta, and then, the even bigger icy dwarf planet Ceres.

"We have our time machine up and flying," said the professor, who has spent 15 years shaping the mission that will send this spacecraft to a doughnut-shaped asteroid belt between Marks and Jupiter.

To find up-to-date information as well as more photos and video links on the mission, go to NASA's Dawn Mission Web site.