27/09/2026
No spacecraft has ever done what Dawn did. đ
Between 2007 and 2018, NASAâs Dawn mission pulled off something no other probe has managed before or since: it orbited two separate worlds. First it circled Vesta, a battered rocky protoplanet in the asteroid belt. Then â using nothing but a whisper-thin ion engine â it broke orbit, cruised across millions of miles, and settled into orbit around Ceres, becoming the first spacecraft to ever orbit a dwarf planet.
No chemical rocket couldâve pulled that off. Dawnâs secret was patience: three ion engines producing a thrust about as strong as a sheet of paper resting in your hand, firing almost nonstop for over a decade.
Dawn ran out of fuel in 2018 and NASA parked it in a stable orbit around Ceres â where itâs still quietly circling today. One spacecraft, two worlds, one lasting first. Swipe through for the full story