NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has achieved the distinction of becoming the first to orbit a dwarf planet. The spacecraft recently began circling Ceres, the largest known body in the main asteroid belt that sits between Mars and Jupiter.
Dawn confirmed its orbiting success by sending a signal to mission controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory around 8:36 AM EST today. The spacecraft has also become the first to orbit two extraterrestrial bodies; it explored the huge asteroid Vesta—the second largest body in the main asteroid belt—from 2011 to 2012.
via IEEE Spectrum
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech
