Dragonfly Titan Rotorcraft (NASA)

NASA's Dragonfly is a car-size rotorcraft that will fly across Saturn's moon Titan to study the chemistry that came before life (NASA).

Image: NASA.

Last reviewed: October 20265 sources cited

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NASA, with the rotorcraft designed and built at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. It is a mission of NASA's New Frontiers program.

The first rotorcraft to explore another world. It has eight rotors and flies like a large drone, stopping to sample the surface.

Launch is targeted for July 5–25, 2028, on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy, with arrival at Titan in 2034.

Saturn's moon Titan, including its dunes and Selk Crater. It will launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Titan's chemistry may resemble early Earth before life began. Dragonfly will study that prebiotic chemistry.

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Dragonfly is planned to explore Titan for 3.3 years, flying to many sites instead of staying in one place (NASA).

Studying chemistry that came before biology helps us understand how life could have started on Earth (NASA).

Learning how planets and moons build life's ingredients helps us understand and value Earth's own living systems.

This is a public mission, so there is nothing to donate. You can explore its free data or join a citizen science project.