For its newest planetary science mission, NASA aims to land a flying robot on the surface of Saturn's
moon Titan, a top target in the search for alien life. Dragonfly will be the first endeavor of its kind.
NASA's car-sized quadcopter, equipped with instruments capable of identifying large organic molecules,
is slated to launch in 2026, arrive at its destination in 2034 and then fly to multiple locations
hundreds of miles apart.
The quadcopter was selected to study the moon of Saturn after a "Shark Tank"-like competition
that lasted two and a half years. Dragonfly, as the mission is called, will be capable of soaring
across the skies of Titan and landing intermittently to take scientific measurements, studying the
world's mysterious atmosphere and topography while searching for hints of life on the only world
other than Earth in our solar system with standing liquid on its surface. The mission will be
developed and led from the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University in Laurel.
"This revolutionary mission would have been unthinkable just a few years ago," said Jim
Bridenstine, the administrator of NASA, in a video statement announcing the mission.
The spacecraft is scheduled to launch in 2026. Once at Titan in 2034, Dragonfly will have a
life span of at least two-and-a-half years, with a battery that will be recharged with a
radioactive power source between flights. Cameras on Dragonfly will stream images during
flight, offering people on Earth a bird's-eye view of the Saturn moon.
Science alert:
