An Unlucky Week for NASA as Two Space Probes Power Down

NASA, the glittering name in the field of astronomy and space science, suffered two set backs this week as its Kepler and Dawn space missions come to an end. The end of the two space missions has lead to the creation of a vacuum in the field of astronomy.

Kepler Mission

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Kepler Spacecraft src:nasa
The Kepler mission was launched on 7 March, 2009 to observe the Cynus and Lyra constellation. The basic aim of the mission was to search for planets similar to Earth where life could be sustained. Kepler worked on the principle that there was a decrease in the intensity of light received by the Kepler when a planet orbiting the star under observation came in front of it.

Kepler worked well and good till 2013 when two of the four reaction wheels, responsible for fixing the view of the lens towards the Cynus and Lyra constellation, broke. This left the space probe almost paralyzed and forced the scientists to search for ways to rejuvenate it. The Kepler then was reborn as K2 mission which focused not only on the prescribed constellations but also on the other stars that would be coming in its field of view round the Sun. For more info on why and how the K2 mission was formed click here.

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Repositioning of Kepler src:nasa
K2 mission proved successful but a problem again showed up in 2018 when NASA revealed that Kepler was short on fuel and would not last longer. It had been shut down and put in sleep mode, only being used when there was a need of downloading necessary data files. This continued till October 31st when the NASA announced that the Kepler space probe has been shut down permanently and will be serving us no longer.

Dawn Mission

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Dawn Spacecraft src:nasa
The Dawn mission was launched on 27 September,2007. The mission's primary objective was to study two protoplanets, Vesta and Ceres. These two protoplanets rotate in the asteroid belt in between the Mars and the Jupiter. The Dawn mission was sent to provide a closer look on the bodies which would make it possible for the scientists to learn how the planets were formed.

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src:nasa
Dawn was a highly ambitious project, a probe being sent for the first time to any asteroid like Ceres and Vesta. Dawn rotated around Vesta for almost an year and found out that Vesta was the parent of various other meteorites. Similarly did it do for Ceres and revealed that it had water and ammonia which reacted with the rocks and formed solid deposits which are still seen there. Presence of many organics was also discovered. But the space probe missed the scheduled communication sessions on 31 October and 1 November. The scientists after eliminating all possibilities of the non-respondence concluded that the probe has consumed all of its hydrazine fuel and is finally dead. However, the mission had already outlived the lifetime presumed and was almost on death bed.

The two missions were landmark in the field of astronomy and served their purpose to the fullest. They opened the doors for various theories and gateways to many unsolved questions after their launch and proved milestones in their respective areas.

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