The US space agency's Dawn probe has gone into orbit around Ceres, the largest object in the Solar System between Mars and Jupiter.
A signal from the satellite confirming its status was received by ground stations at 13:36 GMT.
Ceres is the first of the dwarf planets to be visited by a spacecraft.
Scientists hope to glean information from the object that can tell them about the Solar System's beginnings, four and a half billion years ago.
Dawn has taken 7.5 years to reach its destination. Its arrival has seen it pass behind the dwarf to its "dark side".
Over the next month, controllers will re-shape the orbit to get it ready to begin the prime science phase in late April.
Over time, the intention is to progressively lower the orbit until the probe is just a few hundred km above the surface. By that stage, it will be returning very high resolution pictures.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31754586
Whatever it is, this is such an exciting year for space fans. The horizon probe will reach Pluto this July and if all goes well it will also visit the Kuiper belt.
This is currently the best image we have of pluto...
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