Dragonfly Mission. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben
NASA has chosen SpaceX to launch the Dragonfly mission, a rotorcraft lander project under the New Frontiers Program, to explore Saturn’s moon Titan.
The mission will analyze surface materials and compositions across various geologic sites to further the search for life’s building blocks.
Above: Dragonfly concept soaring over the dunes of Saturn’s moon Titan. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben
The fixed-price contract covers launch services and related costs and is valued at approximately $256.6 million. Dragonfly is scheduled to launch between July 5 and July 25, 2028, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
This mission introduces a unique exploration method, using a rotorcraft lander to travel and sample Titan’s diverse environments. Supported by international partners, Dragonfly will study Titan’s habitability, the development of prebiotic chemistry and search for signs of past life, whether water-based or hydrocarbon-based.
NASA’s Launch Services Program oversees the launch, while the mission is managed by Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland. The Dragonfly team includes global experts in solar system exploration, rotorcraft, autonomous flight, and space systems.
As the fourth mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program, Dragonfly is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama for the Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
source NASA
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