To Boldly Go… Well, You Know: NASA’s Dawn Mission to the Main Asteroid Belt with Dr. Marc Rayman

Join NASA’s Dr. Marc Rayman for an inside look at one of the most ambitious missions in the history of space exploration: the Dawn spacecraft. Dawn made history as the first mission to orbit two extraterrestrial destinations, visiting Vesta (2011–2012) and Ceres (2015–2018)—the two largest bodies in the main asteroid belt.

Discover how Dawn revealed these uncharted worlds, why Ceres is classified as a dwarf planet alongside Pluto, and how cutting-edge ion propulsion technology—once the stuff of science fiction—made this groundbreaking journey possible. Dr. Marc Rayman, who was the mission director and chief engineer (as well as a lifelong space enthusiast), will describe the mission and its unique 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.

Don’t miss this fascinating talk about a mission that reshaped our understanding of the solar system.