Dawn was launched in the year 2007 with an investment of 467 million USD to study the protoplanet Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. NASA in a statement said that the spacecraft had missed its scheduled communications with NASA's Deep Space Network on October 31st and November 1st.
After eliminating all the possibilities, mission managers drew a conclusion that the spacecraft ran out of hydrazine which enabled it to control its pointing. The spacecraft has lasted two years longer than its expected life and had made many discoveries and achieved many missions by giving vital science to the team which in turn helped them make the discoveries.
According to the US Space agency, Dawn will no longer be able to point its antenna to Earth for communications or recharge by turning its solar panels to the Sun. Dawn was launched to orbit two largest objects in the asteroid belt. The spacecraft is currently in its orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres where, according to NASA, it might remain for decades.
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