In July 2028, NASA\u2019s next New Frontiers program mission, Dragonfly, will launch to Saturn atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy. Six years later, it will descend through the thick clouds and atmospheric layers of Saturn\u2019s largest moon, Titan \u2014 finding a world that is both similar to and different from Earth.<\/p>\n
While on Titan, Dragonfly will utilize its rotorcraft design to fly around the methane-filled world and explore Titan\u2019s chemistry and how life may have begun on Earth. Using a suite of four instruments, the rotorcraft will investigate Titan\u2019s rivers, canyons, seas, dunes, and more.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cDragonfly isn\u2019t a mission to detect life \u2014 it\u2019s a mission to investigate the chemistry that came before biology here on Earth. On Titan, we can explore the chemical processes that may have led to life on Earth without life complicating the picture,\u201d said Dragonfly\u2019s principal investigator, Zibi Turtle, of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (JHAPL) in Maryland.<\/p>\n
As mentioned, Titan is a methane world. Its rivers, lakes, and seas are full of liquid methane. Its atmosphere is comprised of methane and ethane. However, organic materials lie within its dunes and surface material that may provide scientists with hints into how life formed on Earth.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n