NASA’s advanced Dragonfly mission to explore Saturn’s moon Titan has taken a major step forward. The project received approval to enter Phase C, which means final design and fabrication work can officially begin in financial year 2024.
![NASA's Dragonfly Spacecraft Prepares for Titan with Final Design Approval](https://m31globalnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/NASAs-Spacecraft-Prepares-for-Titan-with-Final-Design-Approval.jpg)
While the mission’s total cost and exact launch schedule won’t be finalized until mid-2024, this news signifies significant progress. Dragonfly earlier impressed by passing its initial Design Review with good ratings.
To adapt to expected funding levels, the Dragonfly team revised their plans and now target a July 2028 launch date. An official assessment of this launch window will occur in mid-2024.
Praising the team’s ability to navigate technical and logistical hurdles, Nicola Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said, “I am proud of this team…their ability to keep all aspects of the mission moving toward confirmation.”
![NASA's Dragonfly Spacecraft](https://m31globalnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2024-05-13-020607.jpg)
Dragonfly’s uniqueness lies in its use of a rotorcraft-lander. This innovative design will allow the mission to travel across Titan’s surface, gathering samples from diverse locations.
The mission’s core objectives include:
- Assessing the potential for life on Titan by studying its environment.
- Investigating the development of prebiotic molecules, the building blocks of life.
- Searching for signs of past life on Titan, either water-based or based on hydrocarbons.
The Dragonfly benefits from a collaborative effort. Key partners include NASA centers, Lockheed Martin, universities, and international space agencies. This groundbreaking mission marks the fourth chapter in NASA’s New Frontiers Program, overseen by Marshall Space Flight Center.
Why Scientists Want to Research on Titan?
So now we understand that why scientists want to research on Titan instead of other plantes and moons in our solar system:
Titan is the only moon that have this unique atmosphere in our solar system with a thick, Earth-like atmosphere. This atmosphere is made up of nitrogen and methane, which creates a hydrological cycle with methane rain and lakes on the surface.
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The prebiotic chemistry of Titan’s atmosphere is rich in organic molecules which are the building blocks of life (according to us). Studying Titan’s chemistry can help us to understand that how life might have originated on Earth and likely on other worlds.
Previous studies suggest that Titan have possible habitable environment. It’s surface is extremely cold, but evidence suggests a vast internal ocean of liquid water. This hidden ocean, along with the organic molecules on the surface, makes Titan a potential habitat for growing some form of life.
Titan have liquid methane lakes and seas and with these features we have an opportunity to study alternate forms of life that could potentially exist based on hydrocarbons instead of water.
In short, Titan offers a unique environment unlike anything found elsewhere in our solar system. By studying this moon, scientists hope to gain insights into the potential for life beyond Earth and understand the early stages of chemical processes that may have come to life on our own planet.
The Team, M31Global News