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An artist’s impression of a dragonfly flying over the dunes of Saturn’s moon Titan. NASA has cleared the mission team to proceed with development for a July 2028 launch.Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben
The Dragonfly mission is moving toward building nuclear-powered drones. SaturnThe satellite Titan is aiming to be launched in 2028. The mission, which will involve extensive collaboration and technological advances, aims to investigate Titan’s organic matter and its potential links to life.
NASA’s Dragonfly mission team is moving forward with the next stage of development of an innovative car-sized nuclear-powered drone that plans to fly and land over the organic-rich sands of Saturn’s large moon Titan.
NASA has cleared Dragonfly to proceed with design and manufacturing work on its final mission, known as Phase C. The launch preparation date was revised to July 2028.
Artist’s impression of a dragonfly on the surface of Titan. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL
Overcome challenges and prepare for Titan: “The Dragonfly team successfully overcame many technical and programmatic challenges in this bold attempt to collect new science on Titan,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
Dragonfly, NASA’s only mission to the surface of another oceanic world, is designed to probe the complex chemistry that is the precursor to life. It will be equipped with cameras, sensors and samplers to survey the area. The water froze on the surface of the ice.
Artist’s impression of a dragonfly flying over Titan. Credit: Johns Hopkins University/APL
Teamwork and technical milestones: “Dragonfly is a very bold experiment that has never been done before,” said Elizabeth “Zibi” Turtle, Dragonfly principal investigator at APL.
Saturn’s largest satellite that will collect data in 2028. Credit: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
Collaborative initiatives and future expectations: “The dedication of the Dragonfly team was nothing short of heroic,” said Bobby Brown, APL Director of Space Exploration.
APL manages NASA’s Dragonfly mission. The team includes key partners from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado; Sikorsky, Lockheed Martin Corporation. NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania. Marine Space Science Systems (San Diego, California); Honeybee Robotics, Pasadena, California; NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. French Space Agency (CNES) in Paris. German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne, Germany. and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in Tokyo.
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Source: scitechdaily.com
