11-05-2025
NASA's Dragonfly passes key test. A look at its upcoming mission to Saturn's moon
NASA's Dragonfly passes key test. A look at its upcoming mission to Saturn's moon
NASA's eight-rotor Dragonfly drone just finished a crucial test, which confirmed the spacecraft's design and will allow the project to move forward with full-scale fabrication of the spacecraft, according to Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, which manages the mission for NASA. The mission is expected to launch in 2028 to Titan, one of Saturn's moons.
The Dragonfly mission has faced several delays and expense overruns. Dragonfly has a total lifecycle cost of $3.35 billion, NASA said. The rotorcraft is anticipated to arrive at Titan in 2034 and "fly to dozens of promising locations on the moon, looking for prebiotic chemical processes common on both Titan and the early Earth before life developed," according to the agency's release.
What will the Dragonfly's mission be on Titan? Here's a brief look:
NASA's Dragonfly nuclear helicopter
To study Titan's atmosphere and surface, Dragonfly will have a variety of instruments, including a mass spectrometer, a drill system and a neutron spectrometer.
"Dragonfly marks the first time NASA will fly a vehicle for science on another planetary body," NASA said in a recent statement. "The rotorcraft has eight rotors and flies like a large drone."
More: 'Like a large drone': NASA to launch Dragonfly rotorcraft lander on Saturn's moon Titan
Where is Saturn's moon Titan?
Of the 274 moons orbiting Saturn, Titan is its largest and is roughly 759 million miles away from Earth. In some ways, Titan is the closest moon we know of that is similar to the atmosphere of Earth, complete with its orange haze and methane seas, according to NASA. Titan shows all the characteristics of a planet – including rivers, lakes, clouds, rain and even a salty subsurface ocean.
Titan was discovered in 1655 by the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, who named it simply "Luna Saturni," meaning Saturn's moon. Later on, it was renamed after the Titans, a group of Greek mythological beings.
How Titan compares to Earth in size
Titan is about half the size of Earth. NASA has found Titan experiences seasons just like Earth, but because of Saturn's lengthy orbit, Titan's seasons are much longer than Earth's. Titan is nearly the same size as Mars and larger than Mercury.
How long will it take the Dragonfly to get to Titan?
After launching aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket in July 2028, Dragonfly is expected to take about six years to reach Titan by 2034, according to NASA. On its way to Titan, the spacecraft will fly by Earth utilizing gravity assistance to increase its velocity toward Saturn.
How will the Dragonfly land on Titan?
Once the Dragonfly reaches Titan, it will go through a series of steps to launch into its atmosphere.
The drone will evaluate its surroundings and take panoramic images. The cameras will provide detailed views of the terrain. These will allow scientists to select promising geological targets. Then, the drone will fly in a series of "leapfrog" flights to those locations to perform scientific investigations during its 2.7 year mission on Titan, according to NASA. Each of its flights is expected to be about 5 miles.
The Dragonfly will have plenty of power to perform its many experiments. The drone has eight electric motors and is powered by a lithium-ion battery. A Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG), a nuclear battery, recharges the battery during Titan's night.
"Titan is unlike any other place in the solar system, and Dragonfly is like no other mission," said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's associate administrator for Science at the agency's Headquarters in Washington. "Dragonfly will visit a world filled with a wide variety of organic compounds, which are the building blocks of life and could teach us about the origin of life itself."
CONTRIBUTING Jonathan Limehouse
SOURCE NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University of Arizona, The Johns Hopkins University, U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy and USA TODAY research
