Space probe Dawn reaches dwarf planet Ceres, begins historic orbit

After becoming the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid, the NASA probe is now the first to orbit a dwarf planet.

Space probe Dawn has successfully slipped into orbit around Ceres, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit a dwarf planet. “We feel exhilarated,” says lead researcher Chris Russell at the University of California, Los Angeles, in a statement after Dawn radioed back to Earth on March 6.