Ice Volcanoes on Ceres

Speaking of an extended Dawn mission orbiting Ceres, scientists are not wondering why Ceres does not have more craters.  Could it be ice volcanoes?  Data from the Dawn mission may offer clues.

Simone Marchi, a senior research scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, stated:

We concluded that a significant population of large craters on Ceres has been obliterated beyond recognition over geological time scales, which is likely the result of Ceres' peculiar composition and internal evolution...Whatever the process or processes were, this obliteration of large craters must have occurred over several hundred millions of years.

Maybe it does make sense for Dawn to stick around a learn a little more about this fascinating dwarf planet buried in the asteroid belt.

This video from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory shares even more details. 

Extended NASA Missions

Earlier this month NASA extended nine space missions via the 2016 Senior Review of Operating Missions, which area provided below in alphabetical order:

-Dawn;

-Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO);

-Mars Atmospere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN); 

-Mars Odyssey orbiter;

-Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO);

-New Horizons;

-the Opportunity and Curiosity Mars rovers; and

-support for the European Space Agency’s Mars Express mission.

That is quite an investment in Mars, but let's not forget ongoing missions as well such as Cassini around Saturn and Juno orbiting Jupiter. 

Unfortunely, Dawn is done exploring the asteroir belt. While a visit to another asteroid (145 Adeona) was proposed, the panel decided to keep the spacecraft in orbit around Ceres to learn more about the dwarf planet. 

Luckily, New Horizons will continue to explore the outer reaches of the solar system. The panel approved a mission to Kuiper Belt Object MU69 by 2019. So the exploration continues. 

Ceres, Part I: New NASA Photos

NASA's Dawn spacecraft has captured some amazing close-up images of the dwarf planet Ceres.  The image above is the younger Kupalo Crater, which is about 16 miles across, shown from an height of 240 miles.  And the image below is the floor of the Dantu Crater.  You can see a brighter spot on the right hand side that appears to be similar to those scientists have been pondering in the Occator Carter, shown in the very bottom image.  It is believed they may represent brine that came to the surface.

A Mountain on Ceres?

While all of the attention is on Pluto at the moment, let's not forget that the Dawn spacecraft is exploring Ceres, another dwarf planet.  The image above of Ceres' surface was taken in mid June and demonstrates continuing mysteries on the planet's surface beyond those strange bright spots.  But what I find most interesting about the story below is how Dawn will be orbiting this dwarf planet for millions of years.  Now that is impressive.

Here is the story as told by NASA on June 30th:

What created this large mountain on asteroid Ceres? No one is yet sure. As if in anticipation of today being Asteroid Day on Earth, the robotic spacecraft Dawn in orbit around Ceres took the best yet image of an unusually tall mountain on the Asteroid Belt's largest asteroid. Visible at the top of the featured image, the exceptional mountain rises about five kilometers up from an area that otherwise appears pretty level. The image was taken about two weeks ago from about 4,400 kilometers away. Although origin hypotheses for the mountain include volcanism, impacts, and plate tectonics, clear evidence backing any of these is currently lacking. Also visible across Ceres' surface are some enigmatic light areas: bright spots whose origin and composition that also remain an active topic of investigation. Even though Dawn is expected to continue to orbit Ceres, officially dubbed a dwarf planet, for millions of years, the hydrazine fuel used to point Dawn's communications antenna toward Earth is expected to run out sometime next year.

Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, UCLA, MPS/DLR/IDA

Light Spots on Ceres: Is it a Shopping Center?

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is asking for your guess about the bright spots spotted on Ceres.  JPL asks:

Can you guess what's creating those unusual bright spots on Ceres? On March 6, NASA's Dawn spacecraft began orbiting Ceres, the largest body in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Even before the spacecraft arrived at the dwarf planet, images revealed mysterious bright spots that captivated scientists and observers alike. Until Dawn gets a closer look over the next few months, it's anyone's guess what those spots could be. So, go ahead! Cast your vote...

The possible options are (1) volcano, (2) geyser, (3) rock, (4) ice, (5) salt deposit, and (6) other. You can see a better image below, taken on May 16th by the Dawn spacecraft.  I believe the most likely source of the light is reflection on ice, but you never know.  When I voted (no peaking), about 30 percent voted for ice, but 38 percent voted for "other."  I would like to know what some of those "other" scenarios might be, but we may not know for some time (or ever).  The mystery continues.

Dawn Has Arrived

The Dawn spacecraft is now in orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres. Marc Rayman, Dawn mission director, stated:

Since its discovery in 1801, Ceres was known as a planet, then an asteroid and later a dwarf planet...Now, after a journey of 3.1 billion miles (4.9 billion kilometers) and 7.5 years, Dawn calls Ceres, home.

Now the mission can begin to study this mysterious water-loaded planet (estimated to have more water than all the Earth's oceans), including the bright spots on its surface. It seems as though we know more about exoplanets light years away than this nearby neighbor. That is about to change.

Great Image: Approaching the Dwarf Planet Ceres

The images above taken from NASA's spacecraft Dawn are only the parts of an amazing mission to Ceres, the inner solar system's only dwarf planet.  Having studies the asteroid Vesta earlier in its mission, Dawn will now provide visuals and data on Ceres far beyond any thing we have to date.  

Here is NASA's explanation: 

What are those bright spots on asteroid Ceres? As the robotic spacecraft Dawn approaches the largest asteroid in the asteroid belt, the puzzle only deepens. Sharper new images taken last week and released yesterday indicate, as expected, that most of the surface of dwarf planet Ceres is dark and heavily cratered like our Moon and the planet Mercury. The new images do not clearly indicate, however, the nature of comparatively bright spots -- although more of them are seen to exist. The enigmatic spots were first noticed on Texas-sized Ceres a few weeks ago during Dawn's approach. The intriguing mystery might well be solved quickly as Dawn continues to advance toward Ceres, being on schedule to enter orbit on March 6. 

Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, UCLA, MPS/DLR/IDA

Does Iran Still Have a Space Program?

I am somewhat confused as to whether the Iranians still have a space program.  Earlier in the week Iran launched an observation satellite - the Fajr ("Dawn") - into an orbit 280 miles above Earth (see rocket photo).  Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also stated "Our scientists have entered a new phase for conquering space. We will continue on this path." 

However, the other week I read an article stating Iran was rolling up its space program.  In an article titled "Iran Just Cancelled its Space Program" (a pretty definitive title), the author states,

After six years of massive expenditures and lurid propaganda, on Jan. 9 Tehran shut down its troubled space program. The unceremonious cancellation occurred without notice in the Iranian press.

It is possible that Iran is firing off the last of its rockets, as the previous author suggested at the end of his article.  It also also possible that the space program has simply shifted among ministries and it is now under the defense ministry.  This is not unusual.  Just look at how the US space program is divided between NASA and the Air Force.  NASA lost its shuttle years ago, but the Air Force is still operating its own shuttle on a variety of missions (none of which have been shared with the public). 

As of today, the Iranian Space Agency website is still up and running.  And until recently, Iran was still talking about manned space missions and sharing the cost of an space station with China.  It seems we will need to wait and see, though the recent launch certainly indicates the country maintains the hardware it needs to jump back in at any time (assuming it jumped out of the space race).