The robotic NASA spacecraft Dawn entered orbit around Ceres on 6 March 2015 . Pictures with a resolution previously unattained was taken during imaging sessions starting in January 2015 as Dawn approached Ceres , showing a cratered surface . Two distinct bright spots ( or high @-@ albedo features ) inside a crater ( different from the bright spots observed in earlier Hubble images ) was seen in a 19 February 2015 image , leading to speculation about a possible cryovolcanic origin or outgassing . On 3 March 2015 , a NASA spokesperson said the spots are consistent with highly reflective materials containing ice or salts , but that cryovolcanism is unlikely . On 11 May 2015 , NASA released a higher @-@ resolution image showing that , instead of one or two spots , there are actually several . On 9 December 2015 , NASA scientists reported that the bright spots on Ceres may be related to a type of salt , particularly a form of brine containing magnesium sulfate hexahydrite ( MgSO4 · 6H2O ) ; the spots was also found to be associated with ammonia @-@ rich clays . In June 2016 , near @-@ infrared spectra of these bright areas was found to be consistent with a large amount of sodium carbonate , ( Na