Current Status
Deep Space 1 succeeded in its primary and secondary objectives including flybys of the asteroid Braille and of Comet Borrelly, returning valuable science data and images. DS1's ion engines were shut down on 18 December 2001 at approximately 20:00:00 UTC, signaling the end of the mission. However, on-board communications remain active in case the craft is needed in the future. It remains within the Solar System, orbiting the Sun.
A proposed alternative end-of-mission plan involved an encounter with the asteroid 1999 KK1 in August 2002. However, cost reasons meant this was not selected.
Read more about this topic: Deep Space 1
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