- Ceres is the first of the dwarf planets to be visited by a spacecraft.Scientists hope to glean information from the object that can tell them about the Solar System's beginnings, four and a half billion years ago.
- Dawn has taken 7.5 years to reach its destination. Its arrival has seen it pass behind the dwarf to its "dark side".Over the next month, controllers will re-shape the orbit to get it ready to begin the prime science phase in late April.
- Over time, the intention is to progressively lower the orbit until the probe is just a few hundred km above the surface. By that stage, it will be returning very high resolution pictures.
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