NASA Dragonfly Mission to Saturn’s Largest Moon a ‘Go’

NASA’s nuclear-powered, dual-quadcopter rotorcraft is expected to travel tens of miles in an hour, much farther than any existing rover.

Jack Daleo

Friday, April 19, 2024 at 01:34 PM ET

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An artist’s concept depicts NASA’s Dragonfly rotorcraft soaring over Titan’s sandy dunes. [Courtesy: NASA]

Key Takeaways:

NASA has confirmed its Dragonfly mission, a nuclear-powered rotorcraft, will launch in 2028 to explore Saturn's moon Titan.
The primary goal of Dragonfly is to search for prebiotic chemical processes on Titan that could shed light on the origins of life in the solar system.
Despite a significant increase in cost to $3.35 billion, the mission will utilize a drone-like vehicle to investigate Titan's surface and habitability over a two-year expedition starting in 2034.

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Within five years, NASA will launch a nuclear-powered drone to Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, to search for the origins of life.

The space agency this week confirmed its Dragonfly rotorcraft mission to Titan, the fourth initiative under its New Frontiers program, is a “go” for 2028. According to NASA, teams can now begin finalizing the mission’s design. After that, they will begin construction and testing of the spacecraft and science instruments it will carry.