Ceres Exploration
Ceres was the first dwarf planet to be orbited by a spacecraft. NASA's Dawn mission went into orbit around Ceres on March 6, 2015, about four months before New Horizons flew past Pluto on July 14, 2015.
Significant Dates
- 1801: Giuseppe Piazzi discovers Ceres while searching for a star and calls it a planet.
- 1802: John Herschel coins the term "asteroid."
- 1850: Alexander von Humboldt first uses the term "asteroid belt."
- 1863: Wide acceptance that Ceres be classified as an asteroid.
- 2006: Ceres is classified as a dwarf planet.
- 2007: The Dawn spacecraft launches.
- 2015: Dawn arrives at Ceres, marking the first time a spacecraft has orbited a dwarf planet.
