Posted: Fri, Mar 3, 2006, 10:03 AM ET (1503 GMT)
NASA has quietly cancelled a mission to visit two of the largest asteroids in the solar system. The Associated Press reported that NASA on Thursday cancelled Dawn, a mission slated for launch later this year to visit the main belt asteroids Ceres and Vesta. The mission had been on hold since October, when NASA decided to subject the mission to a detailed review after the project encountered technical problems and cost overruns. An independent panel completed its review and presented its findings to NASA in January, according to the AP. Neither NASA nor the project has made a formal announcement of the cancellation as of early Friday.

Related Links:

•  AP article
•  Dawn web site