What two celestial bodies did the NASA Dawn mission use ion engines to cruise between?
Answer
The asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres
The NASA Dawn mission serves as a prime example of successful ion propulsion application in deep space. This spacecraft utilized solar electric propulsion exclusively to navigate between two distinct targets in the asteroid belt and beyond. Specifically, the mission involved traveling to and orbiting the asteroid Vesta and subsequently traveling to and orbiting the dwarf planet Ceres, demonstrating the technology's capability for multi-year interplanetary travel using sustained thrust.
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