The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is building a nuclear-powered lander for Saturn’s moon Titan as part of the Dragonfly mission. It is scheduled to launch in June 2027 and arrive on Titan in 2034. Dragonfly will be the first mission to fly a rotorcraft on another planet.
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Dragonfly will also be the first mission to use nuclear power to explore the moon of an outer planet. Dragonfly will become the first ever to fly its entire scientific payload through an atmosphere as dense as Titan.
What is the Dragonfly mission?
The Dragonfly Mission is a NASA mission to Saturn’s moon Titan, with a planned launch in 2027 and arrival in 2034. It will be the first mission to fly a rotorcraft on another planet. It will use nuclear power to explore Titan’s habitability and look for evidence of past or present life. Dragonfly will fly to multiple locations on Titan, each carefully selected to give scientists the best possible understanding of Titan’s habitability.
One of the key goals of the Dragonfly mission is to study Titan’s prebiotic chemistry. Prebiotic chemistry is the chemical processes that lead to the creation of life. Titan is a great place to study prebiotic chemistry because it has a dense atmosphere that is rich in organic molecules and has lakes and rivers of liquid methane and ethane.
Another key goal of the Dragonfly mission is to search for evidence of past or present life on Titan. Titan is particularly interesting in this respect because it has liquid water under the surface. Liquid water is essential for life as we know it, so Titan is a potential place where life could exist or could have existed in the past.
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What is Dragonfly Drone?
According to NASA, the Dragonfly is a quadcopter drone with a nominal mass of 400 to 450 kg and will be about the size of the largest Mars rovers. It flies using 8 rotors, attached as four pairs to a support placed on the side of the body. The craft can fly at a speed of about 10 m/s and reach an altitude of 4,000 m. The Dragonfly rotorcraft, similar to a drone, will fly to multiple locations on Titan to study its habitability and look for evidence of past or present life.
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Why is NASA sending Dragonfly to Titan, Saturn’s largest moon?
Titan is the only moon in our solar system that has a thick atmosphere, four times denser than Earth’s. Titan’s atmosphere is very similar to Earth’s. Titan can be compared to a very early Earth. The Dragonfly mission, therefore, may provide clues as to how life could have originated on Earth.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn