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NASA has announced plans to deploy a drone-like lander to explore Saturn’s moon Titan.
The vehicle, named Dragonfly, is set to launch in July 2028 with the mission aiming to explore multiple intriguing sites on Titan, with the lander set to arrive in 2034.
“The Dragonfly team has successfully overcome a number of technical and programmatic challenges in this daring endeavour to gather new science on Titan,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington. “I am proud of this team and their ability to keep all aspects of the mission moving toward confirmation.”
Dragonfly, designed as a dual-quadcopter, will be the first aircraft NASA operates for scientific exploration on another planetary body. It aims to investigate prebiotic chemical activities that might mirror those from Earth's early life-forming era.
The eight-rotor rotorcraft is designed to operate like a drone, with construction and design being led by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland.
Featuring: NASA Dragonfly
When: 17 Apr 2024
Credit: NASA/John Hopkins/APL/Cover Images
**EDITORIAL USE ONLY. MATERIALS ONLY TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH EDITORIAL STORY. THE USE OF THESE MATERIALS FOR ADVERTISING, MARKETING OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL PURPOSE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. MATERIAL COPYRIGHT REMAINS WITH STATED PHOTOGRAPHER AND/OR SUPPLIER.**