Current:Home > ScamsNASA's Dragonfly preparing to fly through atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan -AssetScope
NASA's Dragonfly preparing to fly through atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan
View
Date:2025-04-17 10:23:44
NASA is preparing for its next mission: flying through the atmosphere of one of Saturn's moons.
The space agency's Dragonfly rotorcraft lander mission will be exploring Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, as well as the second largest in the solar system, and NASA announced this week that it performed new tests in preparation for the mission.
Launching in June 2027 and arriving in the mid-2030s, the mission, which is expected to last for nearly three years, will examine how far prebiotic chemistry has progressed, which is the study of how organic compounds formed, and if past or existing life is on the moon.
MORE: Prada to design NASA's next-gen spacesuits
Titan is unique because it's the only moon with a dense atmosphere and the only other object in space aside from Earth where evidence has been found of liquid on the surface.
Part of NASA's New Frontiers Program, Dragonfly will be sampling materials in diverse locations to study the habitability of Titan's environment, it said.
NASA says Titan's environment is similar to Earth in its early stages and may provide clues to how life formed on Earth.
However, NASA and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, are ensuring the rotorcraft -- which will fly like a drone -- will be able to function in the unique environment.
Researchers have been conducting test campaigns at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, assessing the vehicle's aerodynamic performance in harsh, near-Titan conditions during various stages of the mission.
In one of its latest tests, the team set up a half-scale Dragonfly lander model to test its descent once it arrives on Titan and its flight over the surface.
"We tested conditions across the expected flight envelope at a variety of wind speeds, rotor speeds and flight angles to assess the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle," test lead Bernadine Juliano of the APL said in a statement on NASA's website.
"We completed more than 700 total runs, encompassing over 4,000 individual data points. All test objectives were successfully accomplished, and the data will help increase confidence in our simulation models on Earth before extrapolating to Titan conditions," Juliano said.
Earlier this month, NASA held a press conference to unveil the contents of the OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security -- Regolith Explorer) mission, also part of the New Frontiers program.
MORE: Prada to design NASA's next-gen spacesuits
The asteroid sample collected from space contains "the building blocks of life on Earth," according to the space agency.
The samples from the asteroid contained abundant water in the form of hydrated clay minerals and molecules, which may have led to the formation of lakes, oceans and rivers on Earth and had a high abundance of carbon, which may explain how Earth was seeded with chemicals.
This is not the first time researchers have attempted to explore Titan.
The European Space Agency's Huygens Probe landed on the moon in January 2005 and spent about four hours discovering new information about Titan's atmosphere and surface.
ABC News' Gina Sunseri contributed to this report.
veryGood! (56291)
Related
- Kourtney Kardashian Cradles 9-Month-Old Son Rocky in New Photo
- 'Napoleon' movie: Cast, release date and details on film starring Joaquin Phoenix
- Microgrids Can Bolster Creaky Electricity Systems, But Most States Do Little to Encourage Their Development
- Terry Taylor Appreciation: Former AP Sports Writer remembers ‘she was the most everything’
- Everything Simone Biles did at the Paris Olympics was amplified. She thrived in the spotlight
- UAW labor deal with Detroit's Big 3 automakers sees pushback from some workers
- Las Vegas student died after high school brawl over headphones and vape pen, police say
- Sweden opens state-of-the-art plant for sorting plastics for recycling
- Immigration issues sorted, Guatemala runner Luis Grijalva can now focus solely on sports
- 'Ted Lasso' reunion: Jason Sudeikis and Hannah Waddingham share 'A Star Is Born' duet
Ranking
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- Why Dean McDermott Says a Pig and a Chicken Played a Role in Tori Spelling Marital Problems
- Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig seeks accountability for attacker ahead of his sentencing
- Takeaways from Biden’s long-awaited meeting with Xi
- How breaking emerged from battles in the burning Bronx to the Paris Olympics stage
- Terry Taylor Appreciation: Former AP Sports Writer remembers ‘she was the most everything’
- Jennifer Aniston reflects on 'Friends' co-star Matthew Perry in emotional tribute: 'Chosen family'
- The odyssey of asylum-seekers and the failure of EU regulations
Recommendation
Report: Lauri Markkanen signs 5-year, $238 million extension with Utah Jazz
Demonstrators calling for Gaza cease-fire block bridge in Boston
Iowa teen convicted of killing Spanish teacher gets life with possibility of parole after 25 years
Justin Torres wins at National Book Awards as authors call for cease-fire in Gaza
The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
California’s first lesbian Senate leader could make history again if she runs for governor
13-year-old boy charged with killing father in DC, police say case was a domestic incident
Pennsylvania’s Senate approves millions for universities and schools, but rejects House priorities