To Boldly Go…Well, You Know: NASA’s Dawn Mission to the Asteroid Belt
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To Boldly Go…Well, You Know:
NASA’s Dawn Mission to the Asteroid Belt
http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/6/8/b/c/event_206666812.jpegTHE AMBITIOUS DAWN MISSION, launched in September 2007, is one of NASA’s most remarkable ventures into the solar system. The spacecraft has recently completed a spectacular exploration of Vesta and is now traveling to Ceres; these were among the last uncharted worlds in the inner solar system prior to Dawn. They are the two most massive residents of the main asteroid belt. Ceres is so large that it is included in the category of dwarf planets, along with Pluto. Remnants from the time that planets were formed, Ceres and Vesta hold clues that will help scientists understand the dawn of the solar system.
Dawn orbited Vesta from July 2011 to September 2012 and returned astonishing views of this fascinating world. It is the only spacecraft ever to orbit an object in the asteroid belt. Such a mission would be impossible without the use of ion propulsion, a technology t
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hat has mostly been in the domain of science fiction, but which was tested extensively on the Deep Space 1 mission, paving the way for Dawn. Dr. Marc Rayman, Dawn’s Chief Engineer and Mission Director at JPL, will describe the Dawn mission and its use of ion propulsion as well as its two exotic destinations. He will also share the excitement and profundity of controlling a spacecraft in deep space.
Location:Baxter Lecture Hall (http://www.skeptic.com/downloads/map-BaxterHall.pdf) Speaker: Dr. Marc Rayman Tickets: First come, first served at the door. Seating is limited. $10 for Skeptics Society members and the JPL/Caltech community, $15 for nonmembers. Your admission fee is a donation that pays for our lecture expenses. LOCATION: Click HERE for Baxter Lecture Hall instructions. (http://www.skeptic.com/downloads/map-BaxterHall.pdf) TICKETS: First come, first served at the door. Seating is limited. $10 for Skeptics Society members and the JPL/Caltech community, $15 for nonmembers. Your admission fee is a donation that pays for our lecture expenses. IMPORTANT STUFF TO KNOW AHEAD OF TIME: New Admission Policy
Due to security concerns, Baxter Hall will be locked and the audience will be admitted only through the doors on the South side of the building by the lily ponds. If, for medical reasons, you cannot climb the stairs to the hall on the 2nd floor, someone at the main entrance (located in the middle of the West side of the building) will escort you to the elevator.
AND REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF --- Directions and Parking
From the 210 freeway exit Lake Avenue south, left on Del Mar, right on Michigan, park in the faculty parking lot. For directions on your GPS devices, use this Caltech address: 332 S. Michigan Ave., Pasadena, CA 91106. Download a map (http://www.skeptic.com/downloads/map-BaxterHall.pdf) of Pasadena and the Caltech campus with parking information. Questions? Call us at 1-626-794-3119. It's a LOT easier to print out the map to find the location of the Baxter Hall and all the parking lots surrounding it.
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http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/6/5/6/0/event_214585952.jpegEvent Host, Jack Cassidy
Jack will be the event host for this lecture. Please look for Jack inside the lecture hall. Thank you, Jack!