NASA ready to launch Dawn probe to asteroid belt

NASA is readying the Dawn spacecraft for launch tomorrow on a long-delayed mission to explore an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter for clues to the birth of the solar system.

If successful, Dawn will be the first robotic probe to put itself into orbit around two different bodies, thanks to an extremely efficient electric engine powered by xenon gas.

Dawn's targets are two of the largest bodies in the asteroid belt, Vesta and Ceres, which scientists believe hold clues to the solar system's formation. Liftoff of an unmanned rocket carrying Dawn is targeted for 7:20 am, local time, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.