The XMO6 altitude in the south was chosen to be comparable to the altitude from which Dawn observed Ceres so extensively in its third and fifth mapping orbits (known as HAMO and XMO2, respectively). XMO6 will afford the probe views of the terrain with the illumination of southern summer that will make for the best comparison with what it has already observed farther north on the dwarf planet. Dawn photographed all of Ceres in full color in those earlier orbits, but it was not possible then to cover the vast surface with the infrared mapping spectrometer, which has a much smaller field of view than the camera. Therefore, scientists had focused their spectral mapping in the northern hemisphere, taking advantage of the lighting then. While some of the southern hemisphere was studied in infrared as well, the opportunity now to observe more of it will allow a more complete understanding of the distribution of minerals.

In XMO6 the spacecraft will fly over the south pole and then head north over the hemisphere of Ceres facing the Sun. It will go lower and lower as it does so. The lowest point in the orbit will occur between 50° and 60°N. Dawn already mapped that territory from LAMO/XMO1, but now it will take advantage of being low again to acquire some new color photography in the northern hemisphere.

As the spacecraft continues farther north, the altitude will increase again. It will sail higher as it travels over the night side before beginning its fall back down. It will take about 37 hours to complete one elliptical revolution.

Some readers may recall that for all of the mapping orbits at Vesta and Ceres, Dawn traveled south over the sunlit side and north over the hemisphere shrouded in the dark of night. (Readers who don't recall that are invited to trust that it's true.) Experts readily recognize that it is very, very difficult to reverse the orbital direction. Dawn did so, however, with the extensive maneuvering in February-April 2017 that allowed it to make the unique observation of opposition. Those who are interested can review the skilled piloting that reversed the direction.

The explorer will observe Ceres on 10 consecutive orbits in XMO6. To conserve precious hydrazine, Dawn will turn to point its main antenna to Earth and radio its findings after every other transit over the sunlit landscapes. In the other orbits, it will wait patiently, saving both data and hydrazine onboard for later.

On May 31, the spaceship will resume maneuvering. It will take about a week of ion thrusting to push down to the final orbit of the mission.

In XMO7 (shown in the two figures below), Dawn will range from as high as 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) to as low as about 22 miles (35 kilometers). (The minimum altitude will vary by a few miles, or kilometers, from revolution to revolution, for reasons we will explain in a future Dawn Journal.) It will take a little more than a day to complete one loop.