Dragonfly mission to Titan

[Flyaway]

Awesome news in my book this decision.

BIG NEWS: The next

@NASASolarSystem

mission is… #Dragonfly – a rotorcraft lander mission to Saturn’s largest moon Titan. This ocean world is the only moon in our solar system with a dense atmosphere & we’re so excited to see what Dragonfly discovers: (link: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1BdGYARXvdYGX) twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1144334797101260800

Official website:

Dragonfly

Flights of Exploration Across Saturn's Moon Titan.

dragonfly.jhuapl.edu

 

[Michel Van]

dam it takes 15 years until arrival at Titan
if Capitol Hill give money for a nuclear powered drone
and do include the mission a Titan orbiter/communication Sat for Dragonfly ?

 

[Grey Havoc]

That would be far too logical for the denizens of Congress, especially the ones currently in control of the House of Representatives.

 

[Flyaway]

dam it takes 15 years until arrival at Titan
if Capitol Hill give money for a nuclear powered drone
and do include the mission a Titan orbiter/communication Sat for Dragonfly ?

I believe the drone will be doing direct contact with Earth.

New Frontiers missions which this is one are cost capped at $1 billion.

 

[Flyaway]

NASA will fund a revolutionary mission to fly through Titan’s atmosphere

"[Dragonfly] has so much potential for fundamental science," said Elizabeth Turtle, a planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physical Laboratory who is the principal investigator for the mission. Scientists believe the complex organic chemistry in the atmosphere of Titan and on its surface may look something like the chemistry on Earth before life developed. "Titan is just a perfect chemical laboratory to understand pre-biotic chemistry," Turtle said.

"We want to do something bold and take measured risks," said Zurbuchen, who added that the weight of Apollo's 50th anniversary has been on his mind. This is an agency that has done great things, and his Science directorate wants to live up to that legacy.

"I've been asking myself what it means to be a part of an agency that has this great history," he said. One thing it appears to mean is that NASA could have something to celebrate on the 65th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.

 

[Flyaway]

Phil Plait usually does good articles and this one on Dragonfly is worth a read I think.

NASA will be sending a quadcopter called Dragonfly to Titan

Hey, go ahead and read that title again. It sounds like science fiction, but it's science fact: NASA is sending a flying robot to Titan, the largest moon of Saturn and a world where organic molecules rain down from the sky and fall into lakes of liquid methane.

www.syfy.com

Plus new NASA video about the mission.

 

[Grey Havoc]

 

[Flyaway]

 

[FighterJock]

An interesting video Flyaway, thanks for posting it.