NASA's Dawn mission

NASA's Dawn mission was a space exploration project that studied two of the largest objects in the asteroid belt, Vesta and Ceres. Launched in 2007, Dawn used a unique ion propulsion system, allowing it to travel efficiently through space. It orbited Vesta for over a year, gathering data on its surface and composition, before moving on to Ceres, the largest dwarf planet. The mission provided valuable insights into the early solar system's formation and the characteristics of these celestial bodies, helping scientists understand the building blocks of planets. Dawn concluded its mission in 2018 after years of groundbreaking discoveries.