[meteorite-list] NASA May Pull Plug on Dawn Asteroid Mission

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue Jan 24 18:06:12 2006
Message-ID: <200601242304.k0ON4WI01513_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/dn8624--nasa-may-pull-plug-on-dawn-asteroid-mission.html

NASA may pull plug on Dawn asteroid mission
Jeff Hecht
New Scientist
24 January 2006

It is make-or-break time for an over-budget mission to the two largest
main-belt asteroids - NASA has delayed its Dawn mission while managers
review its fate.

Two independent review panels will brief top NASA managers on Friday,
who will then make the decision. The Dawn mission to asteroids Ceres and
Vesta was supposed to launch in June 2006, but now it will not launch
until spring 2007, at best. At worst it may be cancelled.

Ceres and Vesta offer new insights on the origins of the solar system
because they are among the few survivors of the first generation of
protoplanets - asteroids in the belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter.

Differences between the two asteroids intrigue planetary scientists.
Vesta melted early in its history, while Ceres did not. The latter
remains an aggregate of primordial material, including water. Dawn would
spend several months studying each asteroid close-up with a camera, two
spectrometers, a laser altimeter, and a magnetometer.
          
Spiralling costs

Approved in December 2001, Dawn was supposed to cost no more than $300
million, including launch and mission operations. When launch costs
rose, NASA approved spending $371 million, but that was the limit.

However, several problems have pushed cost upwards, including
weaker-than-expected tanks holding xenon for the ion drive, and issues
with the drive's power source. "We thought we should give NASA a
warning" that it might be up to $40 million further over budget,
Christopher Russell at the University of Los Angeles, US, and principal
investigator for the Dawn mission told New Scientist. "They did not
react well to that news."

In mid-October NASA stopped most work for a review of Dawn's prospects.
A decision is expected within weeks. If NASA is willing to spend the
money, Russell says Dawn could be launched within 12 months in a window
extending until October 2007.
Received on Tue 24 Jan 2006 06:04:31 PM PST