NASA confirms mission in search of signs of life on Saturn’s moon Titan

The POT has confirmed the Dragonfly mission to Titan, one of the saturn satellitesthus authorizing the continuation of the final design and manufacturing work of the ship, which is scheduled to launch in July 2028.

It is a nuclear-powered drone the size of a car that plans to fly over and land in the organic-rich sands of the large moon of the sixth planet in the Solar System.

Dragonfly is the first scientific vehicle of the POT that will fly over another planetary body. The helicopter has eight rotors and flies like a large drone. Likewise, said vehicle has a total cost of US$3.35 billion and launch date in July 2028.

“Dragonfly is such a bold effort, like nothing that has been done before,” Elizabeth said in a statement. “Zibi” Turtle from APL, principal investigator of Dragonfly. “I am inspired by the way our team has repeatedly overcome challenges by working together and thinking innovatively. “We have shown that we are ready for the next steps on the path to Titan and we will continue to move forward with the same curiosity and creativity that has brought Dragonfly to this point.”, shared with the Europa Press agency

The robot will explore from sand dunes to the floor of a crater where scientists hope to find liquid water and other organic materials that could offer clues to the origin of life that may have existed on that celestial body tens of thousands of years ago.

Was there life on Saturn’s moon Titan?

Dragonfly is being designed and built under the direction of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, which manages the mission for NASA.

From now on, the mission team has four years to finalize the final design of the spacecraft, build it and test its scientific instruments. The announcement was made this week by the associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Nicky Fox, who stressed that “Dragonfly is a spectacular scientific mission with broad community interest. “Exploring Titan will push the limits of what we can do with helicopters outside of Earth.”

Dragonfly will reach the surface of Titan in 2034 and will fly over dozens of locations on the satellite in search of prebiotic chemical processes common on both Titan and the early Earth before life developed.