Abellio Crater is sharply defined crater with a central peak. Dawn has now finished delivering the images that have helped mission planners maneuver the spacecraft to its first science orbit and prepare for subsequent observations. The crater is named for a Yurok god of acorns and distributor of vegetal abundance. Get the latest updates on NASA missions, watch NASA TV live, and learn about our quest to reveal the unknown and benefit all humankind. Dawn will be the first mission to successfully visit a dwarf planet when it enters orbit around Ceres on Friday, March 6. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has returned new images captured on approach to its historic orbit insertion at the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn spacecraft will settle into orbit around the asteroid Vesta this weekend, kicking off a year-long survey of the space rock. At far right is Victa Crater. The Dawn spacecraft imaged this feature on June 16, 2018, as the probe orbited the tiny dwarf planet from an altitude of just 21 miles (33 kilometers). Dawn XMO2 Image 25 This view from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows Megwomets Crater on Ceres. Propelled by ion engines, the spacecraft achieved many firsts until its extended mission concluded on Nov. 1, 2018.
This image shows a portion of the northern hemisphere of Ceres, as seen by NASA's Dawn spacecraft. Image Use; NASA SCIENCE MISSION DIRECTORATE; NASA Portal; This site is maintained by the Planetary Science Communications team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Goddard Space Flight Center for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Megwomets is the largest crater in this image, at right of center. All of the approach operations have executed flawlessly and kept Dawn on course and on schedule. NASA.gov brings you the latest images, videos and news from America's space agency. Cozobi Crater is the sharply defined impact feature at top left. Dawn launched in 2007 on a journey that put about 4.3 billion miles (6.9 billion kilometers) on its odometer.