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Dawn Flyby Target Working Group to Form

Dawn will be traversing a target-rich field over the course of its mission (see below), creating both opportunities and hazards. The use of solar electric propulsion gives Dawn far greater flexibility than chemical propulsion missions in the selection of potential flyby targets. Opportunities will be available within the first year of launch. In the latter part of the mission, as Dawn approaches Ceres, it will be traveling through a region of the asteroid belt rich in taxonomic diversity. It is hoped that Dawn will fly by an example of each principal asteroid taxonomic type; however, few potential targets are likely to have been previously studied beyond a determination of their orbits and estimates of their absolute magnitudes. The Dawn team is creating an observer support website to provide ephemerides of potential targets meeting limiting magnitude and other observer-specific criteria. Ultimately, targets should be selected on the basis of maximum science return and not simply dynamical convenience.

Interested scientists, particularly younger scientists, are

Dawn trajectory with the target distribution. Click image to enlarge.

invited to participate in the Dawn Flyby Target Working Group. This group is created and managed by the Dawn Science Team to collect information on potential flyby targets and make recommendations on target priorities and spacecraft observation plans. Pending future agreements, it is desired that working group members have an opportunity to participate in the initial analysis of flyby data with the science team, and provide advice and review of data products to be delivered to the NASA Planetary Data System for general distribution. To express your interest contact Mark Sykes at sykes@as.arizona.edu, Subject: DFTWG.