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Among the fleet of current interplanetary spacecraft, I think Dawn is perhaps the most interesting. It will be the first spacecraft to enter orbit around a plan
by vbtemp 15y ago
Among the fleet of current interplanetary spacecraft, I think Dawn is perhaps the most interesting. It will be the first spacecraft to enter orbit around a planet(oid) and then fly to a second one to enter orbit there. I just can't wait to see how it turns out.
- psycovic23 15y agoLet's not forget Deep Impact. Flew past two asteroids, and even threw something into the first one while taking pictures (with an incredible autonavigation system). Pretty awesome if you ask me. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Impact_(spacecraft) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Impact_(spacecraft)
- vbtemp 15y agoThat was pretty novel, but I still think Dawn is one of the most interesting still because of the ion thruster and re-orbit of ceres. The neat thing about DI (now called Epoxi and run by UMD, btw) is that it's now become a sort of flying testbed for all sorts of experimental flight and communication software. See "DINET"
- InclinedPlane 15y agoDawn is also quite interesting because it will be studying some of the largest objects in the Solar System that have never been visited by spacecraft before. We've studied the moons of all of the planets in detail, even the tiny ones. Yet Ceres and Vesta are entire worlds, with internal differentiation into a core, mantel, and crust, and complex surface features such as faults and perhaps even volcanoes. I suspect that there are many exciting surprises waiting for us when we finally get a good look at these dwarf planets.