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NASA's Dawn spacecraft sends back close-ups of dwarf planet Ceres' surface

Launched in 2007 with an ion engine, Dawn is nearing the end of its voyage soon.

|Jul 04, 2018, 16:38:06 IST

NASA's Dawn spacecraft is sending back incredible close-ups of the dwarf planet Ceres.The spacecraft has been circling Ceres since 2015. In June, it reached its lowest orbit yet, skimming the surface from just 35 kilometers up.The latest pictures released on Monday offer unprecedented views of a huge impact crater known for its bright salty deposits. Landslides are clearly visible on the rim.[caption id="attachment_4665421" align="alignnone" width="1280"]

This image showing landslides along Occator Crater's rim was obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft from an altitude of about 35 kilometres. AP[/caption]Chief engineer Marc Rayman of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, says the results are better than hoped.Before arriving at Ceres, Dawn explored the asteroid Vesta. Both are in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.Launched in 2007 with an ion engine, Dawn is nearing the end of its extended mission. NASA expects the spacecraft to last just another few months.

Careless Whispers: Scientists discover that plants can 'talk' to each other using smells

Japanese scientists have recorded a video that shows plants, in certain conditions, communicate with each other using mists that carry smells. The discovery, reveals that plants release a fine mist of airborne compounds, to warn nearby plants of potential dangers

Life on Mars? European Space Agency’s Orbiter discovers ice water deposits at equator

European Space Agency's Mars Express Orbiter has identified massive ice and ice water deposits beneath the surface of Mars. The Mars Express orbiter was also the first to confirmed the presence of ice on Mars in 2004

Microsoft briefly overtakes Apple as the most valuable company, Apple back on top again

At its peak during the session, Microsoft's value reached $2.903 trillion, with a 2% surge. As of writing this article, Apple closed at $2.89 trillion, whereas Microsoft closed at $2.86 trillion

Even NASA is facing a tough time, starts layoffs following major budget cuts

NASA is facing some massive budget cuts, because of which, it has been forced to postpone some upcoming missions. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been hit hard by recent federal budget cuts, resulting in the layoff of 100 contractors last week

ISRO, NASA's NISAR satellite to get ready by Jan-end, will monitor Earth's snow-covered regions

The NISAR satellite which has been developed jointly ISRO and NASA, should be ready for launch by the end of January 2024. The collaboration between NASA and ISRO on NISAR is the first time the two agencies have cooperated on hardware development for an Earth-observing mission

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