article_snippet: Scientists have speculated that the interior of Ceres is rocky with a layer of water and ice.
article_snippet: Ceres is the closest dwarf planet to the sun and is located in the asteroid belt, making Ceres the only dwarf planet in the inner solar system.
article_snippet: Ceres is the smallest of the bodies currently classified as a 'dwarf planet'.
article_snippet: Scientists think Ceres may have an ocean and possibly an atmosphere.
article_snippet: Ceres lies less than three times as far as Earth from the sun - close enough to feel the warmth of the star allowing ice to melt and reform.
article_snippet: There is high interest in the mission because Ceres is one possible destination for human colonisation given Ceres abundance of ice, water, and minerals.
article_snippet: I believe the team'll show Ceres is every bit a planet as Ceres terrestrial neighbors Mars, Earth, Venus and Mercury,' scientist Christopher Russell said.
article_snippet: We know so much about the solar system and yet so little about Ceres. '
article_snippet: Ceres is 590 miles (950 km) across and was discovered in 1801.
article_snippet: Soon California will reveal myriad secrets Ceres has held since the dawn of the solar system.'
article_snippet: Ceres orbits the sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and is very similar to Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus - both considered potential sources for harbouring life.
article_snippet: The presence and abundance of water in bodies like Ceres could have relevance for the origin of life on Earth and the large-scale migration of planets such as Jupiter.
article_snippet: Ceres is twice the size of Saturn's geyser-spouting moon Enceladus which is suspected of having liquid water beneath Ceres surface.
article_snippet: Ceres lies less than three times as far as Earth from the sun - close enough to feel the warmth of the star allowing ice to melt and reform.
article_snippet: The distance between Vesta and Ceres is greater than the distance between the Earth and the sun.
article_snippet: During Ceres 14 months in orbit around Vesta, the spacecraft delivered unprecedented scientific insights, including images of the spacecraft cratered surface and important clues about the spacecraft geological history.
article_snippet: Vesta and Ceres are the two most massive bodies in the main asteroid belt.
article_snippet: Ceres is 590 miles (950 km) across and was discovered in 1801.