Encountering the First Dwarf Planet

NASA's Dawn mission has now arrived in orbit around Ceres-the largest asteroid in the asteroid belt and also the first dwarf planet to be discovered. Ceres is among the last uncharted worlds in the solar system, and one of the largest "left-overs" from the formation of our solar system. We are about to have amazing photos and data from this intriguing world (just as Dawn got from its previous target, the second-largest asteroid, Vesta). Dawn is also the first spacecraft to orbit two different bodies in the solar system, thanks to its use of ion propulsion, a technology that until recently was mostly the domain of science fiction.

Speaker: Marc Rayman, NASA