Andromeda
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NASA/JPL-Caltech spacecraft

Dawn (retired)

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Mission over — it missed its contacts on 2018-10-31 and 11-01, its hydrazine believed gone. It is silent in orbit round Ceres, where it arrived on 2015-03-06. Nobody tracks it: its position since 2018-10-31 is JPL's prediction, which leaves out whatever Dawn's last moments did to its orbit (Horizons).

At Ceres.

Measured

Agency
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Arrived
2015-03-06
From the Earth today
2 AU (300 million km)
From Ceres's centre
4,460 km
Across its solar arrays
19.7 m

How far, from the Earth

About 2 AU. To cross it:

  • Light17 minutes
  • Voyager 1's speed6.76 months
  • Driving at 100 km/h342 years

Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.

Facts

  • JPL Horizons orbit (its shape and tilt at each epoch); where it is ALONG the orbit is approximate — this fit is up to 48° from Horizons (median 1°). Those misses are against JPL's prediction, not against Dawn: where it really is along its orbit since 2018 is not known.

Where this comes from

  • NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • Spacecraft trajectories: JPL Horizons, NASA/JPL-Caltech; each mission's agency credited on its card.
  • 3D model: Dawn model: NASA/Brian E. Kumanchik, NASA 3D Resources

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.