From the January 2014 issue

Dawn scientists chat about the mission

Watch astronomers discuss Ceres, Vesta, and what they have learned about our solar system from visiting these two asteroids.
By | Published: January 27, 2014 | Last updated on May 18, 2023
Dawn mission poster
An artist’s rendition of the Dawn spacecraft’s journey to Vesta and Ceres.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Scientists and engineers associated with NASA’s Dawn mission teamed up to bring you these videos about the discoveries both behind and ahead of the spacecraft. Virtually in the same room, the panelists used Google Hangouts to talk to each other and let you listen in.
Dawn team members Tim Weise, Charles Garner, Tom Prettyman, Lucille Le Corre, Vishnu Reddy, Sami Asmar, and Debra Buczkowski say goodbye to Vesta and give a wrap-up on the spacecraft’s findings about this huge rock. Dawn’s public outreach lead, Britney Schmidt, moderated the discussion.
Katie Dyl of Curtain University in Perth, Australia, is an expert on the water content of early asteroids; Andy Rivkin of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore knows all about the near-infrared spectra of asteroids. Here, they talk with CosmoQuest about what they hope Dawn will reveal at Ceres.