DAWN SPACECRAFT

NASA is planning to launch their new "DAWN" spacecraft, TODAY!

This space vehicle will be probing two planet wannabes which reside in the asteroid belt. They will arrive to begin their exploration in August 2011.

The would-be planets that they will be exploring are CERES and VESTA

There is enough material in orbit between Mars and Jupiter for a planet to form. But the huge gravitational forces from Jupiter have prevented this from happening. Ceres and Vesta are the largest pieces of material that have been able to form, with the two of them being 330 miles and 600 miles in diameter.

A full report on the spacecraft can be read at:

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0926/p03s03-usgn.html?s=hns