Which spacecraft conducted a mission to the asteroid belt targets Vesta and Ceres?

Which spacecraft conducted a mission to the asteroid belt targets Vesta and Ceres?

• A. Dawn
• B. Voyager 1
• C. Cassini
• D. New Horizons

Answer: (A)

Studying a mission that visited multiple bodies in the asteroid belt highlights a spacecraft designed to explore more than one primary target in the same region. Dawn is the mission that did this, becoming the first to orbit two separate protoplanets. It arrived at Vesta in 2011 to map its surface and composition, then used its ion propulsion to travel to Ceres and enter orbit there in 2015, enabling detailed observations of a dwarf planet that hosts water-bearing minerals. The other spacecraft focused on entirely different destinations: Voyager 1 is a long-range flyby probe of outer planets and beyond, Cassini studied Saturn and its moons, and New Horizons conducted a Pluto encounter and then explored the Kuiper Belt. Because Dawn uniquely conducted a mission to both Vesta and Ceres, it is the best answer.

Studying a mission that visited multiple bodies in the asteroid belt highlights a spacecraft designed to explore more than one primary target in the same region. Dawn is the mission that did this, becoming the first to orbit two separate protoplanets. It arrived at Vesta in 2011 to map its surface and composition, then used its ion propulsion to travel to Ceres and enter orbit there in 2015, enabling detailed observations of a dwarf planet that hosts water-bearing minerals. The other spacecraft focused on entirely different destinations: Voyager 1 is a long-range flyby probe of outer planets and beyond, Cassini studied Saturn and its moons, and New Horizons conducted a Pluto encounter and then explored the Kuiper Belt. Because Dawn uniquely conducted a mission to both Vesta and Ceres, it is the best answer.