Dawn - A Journey to the Beginning of the Solar System

Dawn - A Journey to the Beginning of the Solar System Dawn - A Journey to the Beginning of the Solar System The scientific objective of David A. Williams participation in the Dawn at Ceres Mission is to organize, supervise, and participate in a geologic mapping campaign for the dwarf planet Ceres using Dawn spacecraft data during its Nominal Mission (~January 2015 December 2016). Dr. Williams, in conjunction with other members of the Dawn Science Team, and building on the experience obtained during the Dawn at Vesta mapping campaign (Williams et al., 2014), will oversee the geologic mapping of Ceres by the Dawn Team, including (but not limited to): a) production of a Survey-based global geologic map for inclusion in the first round of Science papers; b) production of a HAMO-based global geologic for publication in a peer-reviewed journal; c) production of a series of LAMO-based regional maps, using various combinations of the Ceres quadrangle system to be produced by DLR, whose spatial dimensions will be constrained by the features and processes identified on Ceres during the Survey- and HAMO-based mapping, and d) integrate all mapping projects together into a Ceres GIS format. Implicit in this process is that the geologic maps made using LAMO-resolution data will cover all of Ceres, and will be published in peer-reviewed journals. In addition, Dr. Williams will attempt to identify and investigate any volcanic and/or cryovolcanic features on Ceres and to identify their context relative to other geologic features and processes.