Goals: Deep Space 1 was an engineering test flight for a dozen new technologies, including highly-efficient ion engines and autonomous navigation software. Asteroid 9969 Braille was a bonus science target.
Accomplishments: DS1's primary mission was a resounding success. All 12 technology tests were successful. The mission is credited with proving the effectiveness of ion engines for long-duration spaceflight and advancing the field of spacecraft navigation.
DS1 contributed to asteroid science by finding intriguing similarities between Braille and Vesta. It also returned valuable science data during its bonus flyby of comet Borrelly during an extended mission.
On its way to comet Borrelly, Deep Space 1 set a record at the time for the longest operating time on a spacecraft engine. (An ion engine similar to DS1's is shown at right.)
