The Dawn spacecraft launched 11 years ago to explore major bodies in the main asteroid belt including the dwarf planet Ceres has ended its mission, NASA said.
The vessel missed communications sessions with NASA on October 31 and November 1. Mission managers have concluded Dawn ran out of fuel required to allow the spacecraft to control pointing.
"The demands we put on Dawn were tremendous, but it met the challenge every time," said Marc Rayman, mission director and chief engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in a statement. "It's hard to say goodbye to this amazing spaceship, but it's time."
Dawn launched in 2007, logging 4.3 billion miles. The spacecraft traveled to the main asteroid belt, exploring its two largest bodies: the dwarf planet Ceres and the asteroid Vesta. Dawn was the first space mission to successfully orbit two destinations, according to NASA.
"The astounding images and data that Dawn collected from Vesta and Ceres are critical to understanding the history and evolution of our solar system," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
NASA said the spacecraft is in orbit around Ceres, and will stay there for decades.
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