Dawn, NASA's mission to the Asteroid Belt, comes to an end

Dawn, the little spacecraft that could, has ended its mission into the asteroid belt.  Launched in September 2007, it is the first probe to orbit one celestial body and then leave to orbit another one.  Dawn arrived at Vesta in July 2011 and studied the protoplanet for 14 months.

Dawn left Vesta and traveled to Ceres, arriving in March 2015, where it remains.  It missed several scheduled communications and NASA has concluded it has run out of hydrazine, the fuel that helps the craft keep its antennae pointed toward Earth and its solar panels to the sun.

Its mission lasted three years longer than anticipated.