NASA / Johns Hopkins APL / Steve Gribben
A decision by NASAthis workweek pave the agency for the Dragonfly drone military mission to go on to pass completion .
The aim is to land the car - sized drone on Saturn ’s largest lunation , Titan , in 2034 , six years after it launch from Earth .
NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben
Lockheed Martin , which is part of the Dragonfly squad led by the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory , share a TV express the cool manner in which Dragonfly will reach Titan ’s surface in 10 age ’ time .
Titan your seatbelts!@NASAhas confirmed that development of the Dragonfly rotorcraft will continue into final intention , construction and testing as it progresses toward its historical missionary station to Saturn's moon Titan , launch in July 2028 .
We are excited to help land Dragonfly…pic.twitter.com/v1oiElI8fx
& mdash ; Lockheed Martin Space ( @LMSpace)April 18 , 2024
As you may see , the spacecraft that transports Dragonfly from Earth will release the drone close to Titan ’s surface . The drone will then immediately fire up its rotors to help it achieve what should be a smooth , assure landing .
In some ways , the physical process look alike to how NASA landed the Perseverance rover on Mars in 2021 , a dramatic result that wascaptured by high - definition photographic camera . However , the Perseverance landing was more complicated as it involved the spacecraft terminate up eight small rocket to slow its descent in the terminal stages before set the rover down with overseas telegram .
Though Dragonfly ’s landing sure looks like more square , you’re able to guarantee that mission controllers on landing Clarence Day will still be sweating it as they wait for confirmation of Dragonfly ’s successful touchdown .
Titan bears some similarities to the very early Earth and so it ’s hoped that scientific discipline research carried out by the bourdon will help scientists to learn more about how life started on our planet . The drone wo n’t be the first aircraft to fly on a celestial body other than Earth , as that effort was achieve by NASA ’s Ingenuity whirlybird , which trip to Mars with Perseverance . The huge success of Ingenuity ’s mission , whichofficially terminate earlier this weekfollowing 72 flights on the ruddy major planet , has given a large boost to the team prepping Dragonfly for Titan .
The Dragonfly mission was selected as part of NASA ’s New Frontiers program , which includes the already - launchedNew Horizons missionto Pluto and the Kuiper Belt , theJuno charge to Jupiter , and theOSIRIS - REx commission to the asteroid Bennu .
