page_title: List of uncrewed NASA missions
section_title: Dawn (2007–2018)
hierarchical_section_title: List of uncrewed NASA missions / List of missions / Dawn (2007–2018)
context_page_description: Since 1958, NASA has overseen more than 1,000 uncrewed missions into Earth orbit or beyond. It has both launched its own missions and provided funding for private-sector missions. A number of NASA missions, including the Explorers Program, Voyager program, and New Frontiers program, are ongoing.
context_section_description: Dawn is a NASA spacecraft tasked with the exploration and study of the asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres, the two largest members of the asteroid belt. The spacecraft was constructed with some European cooperation, with components contributed by partners in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. The Dawn mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
  Dawn is the first spacecraft to visit either Vesta or Ceres. It is also the first spacecraft to orbit two separate extraterrestrial bodies, using ion thrusters to travel between its targets. Previous multi-target missions using conventional drives, such as the Voyager program, were restricted to flybys.
  Launched on September 27, 2007, Dawn entered orbit around Vesta on July 16, 2011, and explored it until September 5, 2012. Thereafter, the spacecraft headed to Ceres and started to orbit the dwarf planet on March 6, 2015. In November 2018, NASA reported that Dawn had run out of fuel, effectively ending its mission; it will remain in orbit around Ceres, but can no longer communicate with Earth.
caption: Dawn, artist concept
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