Dragonfly (Titan space probe)

Last updated

Dragonfly
Dragonfly Concept Art 2024.webp
Spacecraft concept illustration
Mission type Rotorcraft on Titan
Operator NASA
Website dragonfly.jhuapl.edu
Mission duration10 years (planned) [1]
Science phase: 3.3 years [2]
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type Rotorcraft lander
Manufacturer Applied Physics Laboratory
Landing mass≈450 kg (990 lb) [3]
Power70 watts (desired) [3] from an MMRTG
Start of mission
Launch dateJuly 2028 (planned) [4]
RocketTBA
Titan aircraft
Landing date2034 [2]
Landing site Shangri-La dune fields [5]
Distance flown8 km (5.0 mi) per flight (planned) [5]
Instruments
Dragonfly Mass Spectrometer (DraMS)
Dragonfly Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer (DraGNS)
Dragonfly Geophysics and Meteorology Package (DraGMet)
Dragonfly Mission Insignia.png
Dragonfly Mission Insignia
←  OSIRIS-REx
 

Dragonfly is a planned NASA spacecraft mission to send a robotic rotorcraft to the surface of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. It is planned to be launched in July 2028 and arrive in 2034. It would be the first aircraft on Titan and is intended to make the first powered and fully controlled atmospheric flight on any moon, with the intention of studying prebiotic chemistry and extraterrestrial habitability. It would then use its vertical takeoffs and landings (VTOL) capability to move between exploration sites. [6] [7] [8]

Contents

Titan is unique in having an abundant, complex, and diverse carbon-rich chemistry and a surface dominated by water and ice, with an interior water ocean, making it a high-priority target for astrobiology and origin of life studies. [6] The mission was proposed in April 2017 to NASA's New Frontiers program by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), and was selected as one of two finalists (out of twelve proposals) in December 2017 to further refine the mission's concept. [9] [10] On 27 June 2019, Dragonfly was selected to become the fourth mission in the New Frontiers program. [11] [12] In April 2024 the mission was confirmed and moved to its final development stages. [13]

Overview

Mission concept illustration NASA Dragonfly mission to Titan.jpg
Mission concept illustration

Dragonfly is an astrobiology mission to Titan to assess its microbial habitability and study its prebiotic chemistry at various locations. Dragonfly is designed to perform controlled flights and vertical takeoffs and landings between locations. The mission is to involve flights to multiple different locations on the surface, which allows sampling of diverse regions and geological contexts. [3] [14]

Titan is a compelling astrobiology target because its surface contains abundant complex carbon-rich chemistry and because both liquid water (transient) and liquid hydrocarbons can occur on its surface, possibly forming a prebiotic primordial soup. [15]

A successful flight of Dragonfly would make it the second rotorcraft to fly on a celestial body other than Earth, following the success of Ingenuity, a technology demonstration UAV helicopter, which landed on Mars with the Perseverance rover on 18 February 2021 as part of the Mars 2020 mission and first achieved powered flight on 19 April 2021. [16] [17] [18]

History

The previously passed over TSSM mission proposed a Titan aircraft in the form of a Montgolfier balloon with a boat-lander gondola. TSSM-TandEM-Montgolfiere.jpg
The previously passed over TSSM mission proposed a Titan aircraft in the form of a Montgolfier balloon with a boat-lander gondola.

The initial Dragonfly conception took place over a dinner conversation between scientists Jason W. Barnes of Department of Physics, University of Idaho, (who had previously made the AVIATR proposal for a Titan aircraft) and Ralph Lorenz of Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and it took 15 months to make it a detailed mission proposal. [19] The principal investigator is Elizabeth Turtle, a planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. [14]

2021 render of Dragonfly Dragonfly spacecraft.jpg
2021 render of Dragonfly

The Dragonfly mission builds on several earlier studies of Titan mobile aerial exploration, including the 2007 Titan Explorer Flagship study, [20] which advocated a Montgolfier balloon for regional exploration, and AVIATR, an airplane concept considered for the Discovery program. [3] The concept of a rotorcraft lander that flew on battery power, recharged during the 8-Earth-day Titan night from a radioisotope power source, was proposed by Lorenz in 2000. [21] More recent discussion has included a 2014 Titan rotorcraft study by Larry Matthies, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, that would have a small rotorcraft deployed from a lander or a balloon. [22] The hot-air balloon concepts would have used the heat from a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG). [23]

Dragonfly is to use its multi-rotor vehicle to transport its instrument suite to multiple locations to make measurements of surface composition, atmospheric conditions, and geologic processes. [24]

Dragonfly and CAESAR , a comet sample return mission to 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, were the two finalists for the New Frontiers program Mission 4, [25] [26] and on 27 June 2019, NASA selected Dragonfly for development with a plan to launch in June 2027. [27] [28]

On 3 March 2023, Dragonfly passed its preliminary design review (PDR). [29]

In November 2023 following NASA's decision to postpone the formal confirmation of the mission due to funding uncertainties, the launch was delayed by one year, with a new launch date set for July 2028. [4]

Funding

The CAESAR and Dragonfly missions received US$4 million funding each through the end of 2018 to further develop and mature their concepts. [25] NASA announced the selection of Dragonfly on 27 June 2019, which is expected to be built and launched by July 2028. [4] Dragonfly is the fourth in NASA's New Frontiers portfolio, a series of principal investigator-led planetary science investigations that fall under a development cost cap of approximately US$850 million, and including launch services, the total cost projection is approximately US$1 billion. [30] A revised cost projection was released in April 2024, with Dragonfly now expected to incur a total lifecycle cost of US$3.35 billion due to supply chain increases and delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. [31]

Science objectives

The Huygens ' descent with video and data from 2005 onto Titan

Titan is similar to the very early Earth, and can provide clues to how life may have arisen on Earth. In 2005, the European Space Agency's Huygens lander acquired some atmospheric and surface measurements on Titan, detecting tholins, [32] which are a mix of various types of hydrocarbons (organic compounds) in the atmosphere and on the surface. [33] [34] Because Titan's atmosphere obscures the surface at many wavelengths, the specific compositions of solid hydrocarbon materials on Titan's surface remain essentially unknown. [35] Measuring the compositions of materials in different geologic settings is intended to reveal how far prebiotic chemistry has progressed in environments that provide known key ingredients for life, such as pyrimidines (bases used to encode information in DNA) and amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. [36]

Areas of particular interest are sites where extraterrestrial liquid water in impact melt or potential cryovolcanic flows may have interacted with the abundant organic compounds. Dragonfly would provide the capability to explore diverse locations to characterize the habitability of Titan's environment, investigate how far prebiotic chemistry has progressed, and search for biosignatures indicative of life based on water as solvent and even hypothetical types of biochemistry. [6]

The atmosphere contains plentiful nitrogen and methane, and strong evidence indicates that liquid methane exists on the surface. Evidence also indicates the presence of liquid water and ammonia under the surface, which may be delivered to the surface by cryovolcanic activity. [37]

Design and construction

Titan has a dense atmosphere and low gravity compared to Earth, two factors facilitating propelled flight. Titan in true color.jpg
Titan has a dense atmosphere and low gravity compared to Earth, two factors facilitating propelled flight.
The multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator of Mars Science Laboratory, sent to the surface of Mars to power that robotic rover. MMRTG for the MSL.jpg
The multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator of Mars Science Laboratory, sent to the surface of Mars to power that robotic rover.

Dragonfly is designed as a rotorcraft lander, much like a large quadcopter with double rotors, which is known as an octocopter. [3] The rotor configuration provides redundancy to enable the mission to tolerate the loss of at least one rotor or motor. [3] Each of the craft's eight rotors is 1.35 m (4.4 ft) in diameter. [38] [39] The aircraft would travel at about 10 m/s (36 km/h; 22 mph) and climb to an altitude of up to 4 km (13,000 ft). [3]

Flight on Titan is aerodynamically benign as Titan has low gravity and little wind, and its dense atmosphere allows for efficient rotor propulsion. [40] The radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) power source has been proven in multiple spacecraft, and the extensive use of quad drones on Earth provides a well-understood flight system that is being complemented with algorithms to enable independent actions in real-time. [40] The craft is designed to operate in a space radiation environment and in temperatures averaging 94 K (−179.2 °C). [40]

Titan's dense atmosphere and low gravity mean that the flight power for a given mass is a factor of about 40 times lower than on Earth. [3] The atmosphere has 1.45 times the pressure and about four times the density of Earth's, and local gravity (13.8% of Earth's) makes flight easier than on Earth, although cold temperatures, lower light levels and higher atmospheric drag on the airframe will be challenges. [23]

Dragonfly should be able to fly several kilometers, [41] powered by a lithium-ion battery, which is to be recharged by a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) during the night. [21] MMRTGs convert the heat from the natural decay of a radioisotope into electricity. [3] Twenty-four Radioisotope Heater Units (RHUs) are also kept reserved for this mission. [42] The rotorcraft should be able to travel ten miles (16 km) on each battery charge and stay aloft for a half hour each time. [43] The vehicle is to have sensors to scout new science targets, and then return to the original site until new landing destinations are approved by mission controllers. [43] [44]

The Dragonfly rotorcraft will weigh approximately 450 kg (990 lb) and be packaged inside a heatshield of 3.7 m (12 ft) diameter. [3] Regolith samples are to be obtained by two sample acquisition drills and hoses, one on each landing skid, for delivery to the mass spectrometer instrument. [3]

An artist's concept of the Dragonfly rotorcraft-lander approaching a site on Titan Dragonfly-landing.png
An artist's concept of the Dragonfly rotorcraft-lander approaching a site on Titan

The craft is to remain on the ground during the Titan nights, which last about eight Earth days or 192 hours. [3] Activities during the night may include sample collection and analysis, seismological studies like diagnosing wave activity on the northern hydrocarbon seas, [45] meteorological monitoring, and local microscopic imaging using LED illuminators as flown on Phoenix lander and Curiosity rover. [3] [46] The craft is designed to communicate directly to Earth with a high-gain antenna. [3]

The Penn State Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence is responsible for rotor design and analysis, rotorcraft flight-control development, scaled rotorcraft testbed development, ground testing support, and flight performance assessment. [47]

Scientific payload

Trajectory

Dragonfly is expected to launch in July 2028 [48] and to take seven years to reach Titan, arriving by 2034. [49] [1] The spacecraft is likely to perform a gravity assist flyby of Earth to gain additional velocity on its way to Titan. [50] The spacecraft would be the first dedicated outer solar system mission to not visit Jupiter, as it will not be within the flight path. [51]

Entry and descent

The cruise stage is to separate from the entry capsule ten minutes before encountering Titan's atmosphere. [43] The lander would then descend to the surface of Titan using an aeroshell and a series of two parachutes, while the spent cruise stage would burn up in uncontrolled atmospheric entry. The duration of the descent phase is expected to be 105 minutes. [52] The aeroshell is derived from the Genesis sample return capsule, and the PICA heat shield is similar to MSL and Mars 2020 design and should protect the spacecraft for the first six minutes of its descent. [52]

At a speed of Mach 1.5, a drogue parachute is to deploy, to slow the capsule to subsonic speeds. Due to Titan's comparatively thick atmosphere and low gravity, the drogue chute phase should last for 80 minutes. [52] A larger main parachute is to replace the drogue chute when the descent speed is sufficiently low. During the 20 minutes on the main chute, the lander is to be prepared for separation. The heat shield is to be jettisoned, the landing skids are to be extended, and sensors such as radar and lidar are to be activated. [52] At an altitude of 1.2 km (0.75 mi), the lander should be released from its parachute for a powered flight to the surface. The specific landing site and flight operation are to be performed autonomously. This is required since the high gain antenna would not be deployed during descent, and because communication between Earth and Titan takes 70–90 minutes in each direction. [43]

Landing site

Shangri-La is the large, dark region at the center of this infrared image of Titan. Titan globe.jpg
Shangri-La is the large, dark region at the center of this infrared image of Titan.
The Selk impact crater on Titan, as imaged by the Cassini orbiter's radar, is 90 km (56 mi) in diameter. Selk crater on Titan.jpg
The Selk impact crater on Titan, as imaged by the Cassini orbiter's radar, is 90 km (56 mi) in diameter.

The Dragonfly rotorcraft should land initially in dunes to the southeast of the Selk impact structure at the edge of the dark region called Shangri-La. [54] [5] It is planned to explore this region in a series of flights of up to 8 km (5.0 mi) each, and acquire samples from compelling areas with a diverse geography. After landing, it is planned to travel to the Selk impact crater, where in addition to tholin organic compounds, there is evidence of past liquid water. [5]

The Selk crater is a geologically young impact crater 90 km (56 mi) in diameter, located about 800 km (500 mi) north-northwest of the Huygens lander. [55] ( 7°00′N199°00′W / 7.0°N 199.0°W / 7.0; -199.0 ) [56] [53] Infrared measurements and other spectra by the Cassini orbiter show that the adjacent terrain exhibits a brightness suggestive of differences in thermal structure or composition, possibly caused by cryovolcanism generated by the impact – a fluidized ejecta blanket and fluid flows, now water ice. [55] [57] Such a region featuring a mix of organic compounds and water ice is a compelling target to assess how far the prebiotic chemistry may have progressed at the surface. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mariner program</span> NASA space program from 1962 to 1973

The Mariner program was conducted by the American space agency NASA to explore other planets. Between 1962 and late 1973, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) designed and built 10 robotic interplanetary probes named Mariner to explore the inner Solar System - visiting the planets Venus, Mars and Mercury for the first time, and returning to Venus and Mars for additional close observations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titan (moon)</span> Largest moon of Saturn and second-largest moon in Solar System

Titan is the largest moon of Saturn and the second-largest in the Solar System. It is the only moon known to have an atmosphere denser than the Earth's, and is the only known object in space other than Earth on which clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found. Titan is one of the seven gravitationally rounded moons of Saturn and the second-most distant among them. Frequently described as a planet-like moon, Titan is 50% larger than Earth's Moon and 80% more massive. It is the second-largest moon in the Solar System after Jupiter's moon Ganymede, and is larger than Mercury, but only 40% as massive due to Mercury being made of mostly dense iron and rock, while a large portion of Titan is made of less-dense ice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerobot</span>

An aerobot is an aerial robot, usually used in the context of an unmanned space probe or unmanned aerial vehicle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lander (spacecraft)</span> Type of spacecraft

A lander is a spacecraft that descends towards, then comes to rest on the surface of an astronomical body other than Earth. In contrast to an impact probe, which makes a hard landing that damages or destroys the probe upon reaching the surface, a lander makes a soft landing after which the probe remains functional.

The New Frontiers program is a series of space exploration missions being conducted by NASA with the purpose of furthering the understanding of the Solar System. The program selects medium-class missions which can provide high science returns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exploration of Saturn</span> Overview of the exploration of Saturn

The exploration of Saturn has been solely performed by crewless probes. Three missions were flybys, which formed an extended foundation of knowledge about the system. The Cassini–Huygens spacecraft, launched in 1997, was in orbit from 2004 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Life on Titan</span> Scientific assessments on the microbial habitability of Titan

Whether there is life on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is currently an open question and a topic of scientific assessment and research. Titan is far colder than Earth, but of all the places in the Solar System, Titan is the only place besides Earth known to have liquids in the form of rivers, lakes, and seas on its surface. Its thick atmosphere is chemically active and rich in carbon compounds. On the surface there are small and large bodies of both liquid methane and ethane, and it is likely that there is a layer of liquid water under its ice shell. Some scientists speculate that these liquid mixes may provide prebiotic chemistry for living cells different from those on Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titan Saturn System Mission</span> Joint NASA–ESA proposal

Titan Saturn System Mission (TSSM) was a joint NASA–ESA proposal for an exploration of Saturn and its moons Titan and Enceladus, where many complex phenomena were revealed by Cassini. TSSM was proposed to launch in 2020, get gravity assists from Earth and Venus, and arrive at the Saturn system in 2029. The 4-year prime mission would include a two-year Saturn tour, a 2-month Titan aero-sampling phase, and a 20-month Titan orbit phase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator</span> Nuclear thermal source whose heat is converted into electricity

The multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG) is a type of radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) developed for NASA space missions such as the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Energy's Office of Space and Defense Power Systems within the Office of Nuclear Energy. The MMRTG was developed by an industry team of Aerojet Rocketdyne and Teledyne Energy Systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titan Mare Explorer</span> Proposed spacecraft lander design

Titan Mare Explorer (TiME) is a proposed design for a lander for Saturn's moon Titan. TiME is a relatively low-cost, outer-planet mission designed to measure the organic constituents on Titan and would have performed the first nautical exploration of an extraterrestrial sea, analyze its nature and, possibly, observe its shoreline. As a Discovery-class mission it was designed to be cost-capped at US$425 million, not counting launch vehicle funding. It was proposed to NASA in 2009 by Proxemy Research as a scout-like pioneering mission, originally as part of NASA's Discovery Program. The TiME mission design reached the finalist stage during that Discovery mission selection, but was not selected, and despite attempts in the U.S. Senate failed to get earmark funding in 2013. A related Titan Submarine has also been proposed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mars aircraft</span> Unmanned space aircraft

A Mars aircraft is a vehicle capable of sustaining powered flight in the atmosphere of Mars. So far, the Mars helicopter Ingenuity is the only aircraft ever to fly on Mars, completing 72 successful flights covering 17.242 km (10.714 mi) in 2 hours, 8 minutes and 48 seconds of flight time. Ingenuity operated on Mars for 1042 sols, until its rotor blades, possibly all four, were damaged, causing NASA to retire the craft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AVIATR</span>

AVIATR was a proposed airplane mission concept to Titan, a moon of Saturn. The concept was developed in 2011 by a team of scientists led by Jason W. Barnes at the University of Idaho. Compared to Earth, Titan has about one-seventh the gravity but four times the atmospheric density. These conditions make it easier to fly there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Europa Clipper</span> Planned NASA space mission to Jupiter

Europa Clipper is a space probe in development by NASA. Planned for launch in October 2024, the spacecraft is being developed to study the Galilean moon Europa through a series of flybys while in orbit around Jupiter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flyby (spaceflight)</span> Flight event at some distance from the object

A flyby is a spaceflight operation in which a spacecraft passes in proximity to another body, usually a target of its space exploration mission and/or a source of a gravity assist to impel it towards another target. Spacecraft which are specifically designed for this purpose are known as flyby spacecraft, although the term has also been used in regard to asteroid flybys of Earth for example. Important parameters are the time and distance of closest approach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Europa Lander</span> Proposed NASA lander for Europa

The Europa Lander is a proposed astrobiology mission concept by NASA to send a lander to Europa, an icy moon of Jupiter. If funded and developed as a large strategic science mission, it would be launched in 2027 to complement the studies by the Europa Clipper orbiter mission and perform analyses on site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oceanus (Titan orbiter)</span>

Oceanus is a NASA/JPL orbiter mission concept proposed in 2017 for the New Frontiers mission #4, but it was not selected for development. If selected at some future opportunity, Oceanus would travel to Saturn's moon Titan to assess its habitability. Studying Titan would help understand the early Earth and exoplanets which orbit other stars. The mission is named after Oceanus, the Greek god of oceans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SPRITE (spacecraft)</span> Proposed NASA Saturn atmospheric probe mission concept

SPRITE was a proposed Saturn atmospheric probe mission concept of the NASA. SPRITE is a design for an atmospheric entry probe that would travel to Saturn from Earth on its own cruise stage, then enter the atmosphere of Saturn, and descend taking measurements in situ.

<i>Ingenuity</i> (helicopter) Retired NASA helicopter on the Mars 2020 mission

Ingenuity, nicknamed Ginny, is an autonomous NASA helicopter that operated on Mars from 2021 to 2024 as part of the Mars 2020 mission. Ingenuity made its first flight on April 19, 2021, demonstrating that flight is possible in the extremely thin atmosphere of Mars, and becoming the first aircraft to conduct a powered and controlled extra-terrestrial flight. It was designed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in collaboration with AeroVironment, NASA's Ames Research Center and Langley Research Center with some components supplied by Lockheed Martin Space, Qualcomm, and SolAero.

Ralph D. Lorenz is a planetary scientist and engineer at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. whose research focuses on understanding surfaces, atmospheres, and their interactions on planetary bodies, especially Titan, Venus, Mars, and Earth. He currently serves as Mission Architect of Dragonfly, NASA's fourth selected New Frontiers mission, and as participating scientist on Akatsuki and InSight. He is a Co-Investigator on the SuperCam instrument on the Perseverance rover, responsible for interpreting data from its microphone. He leads the Venus Atmospheric Structure Investigation on the DAVINCI Discovery mission to Venus. He is the recipient of the 2020 International Planetary Probe Workshop (IPPW) Al Seiff memorial award, and the 2022 American Geophysical Union's Fred Whipple Award for contributions to planetary science.

References

  1. 1 2 Talbert, Tricia (25 September 2020). "Dragonfly Launch Moved to 2027". NASA. NASA. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  2. 1 2 "OPAG August 2021" (PDF). Zibi Turtle, Dragonfly PI, JHUAPL. 31 August 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 December 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2022.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Dragonfly: A Rotorcraft Lander Concept for Scientific Exploration at Titan Ralph D. Lorenz, Elizabeth P. Turtle, Jason W. Barnes, Melissa G. Trainer, Douglas S. Adams, Kenneth E. Hibbard, Colin Z. Sheldon, Kris Zacny, Patrick N. Peplowski, David J. Lawrence, Michael A. Ravine, Timothy G. McGee, Kristin S. Sotzen, Shannon M. MacKenzie, Jack W. Langelaan, Sven Schmitz, Larry S. Wolfarth, and Peter D. Bedini. 2018. Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest, 34(3), 374-387
  4. 1 2 3 Foust, Jeff (28 November 2023). "NASA postpones Dragonfly review, launch date". SpaceNews.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Hautaluoma, Grey; Johnson, Alana, eds. (27 June 2019). "NASA's Dragonfly Will Fly Around Titan Looking for Origins, Signs of Life" (Press release). NASA. 19-052. Archived from the original on 1 March 2024.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. 1 2 3 Dragonfly: Exploring Titan's Prebiotic Organic Chemistry and Habitability E. P. Turtle, J. W. Barnes, M. G. Trainer, R. D. Lorenz, S. M. MacKenzie, K. E. Hibbard, D. Adams, P. Bedini, J. W. Langelaan, K. Zacny, and the Dragonfly Team Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 2017
  7. ↑ "Dragonfly: Titan Rotorcraft Lander". The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  8. ↑ Redd, Nola Taylor (25 April 2017). ""Dragonfly" Drone Could Explore Saturn Moon Titan". Space.com . Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  9. ↑ Brown, Dwayne; Cantillo, Laurie, eds. (20 December 2017). "NASA Invests in Concept Development for Missions to Comet, Saturn Moon Titan" (Press release). NASA. 17-101. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2017.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  10. ↑ "Dragonfly And CAESAR: NASA Greenlights Concepts For Missions To Titan And Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko". Science 2.0. 20 December 2017. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  11. ↑ Bridenstine, Jim [@JimBridenstine] (27 June 2019). "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" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 28 June 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2019– via Twitter.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  12. ↑ Brown, David W. (27 June 2019). "NASA Announces New Dragonfly Drone Mission to Explore Titan – The quadcopter was selected to study the moon of Saturn after a "Shark Tank"-like competition that lasted two and a half years" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  13. ↑ "NASA's Dragonfly Rotorcraft Mission to Saturn's Moon Titan Confirmed - NASA Science". science.nasa.gov. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  14. 1 2 NASA Selects Johns Hopkins APL-Led Mission to Titan for Further Development Archived 26 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory - Press release 21 December 2017
  15. ↑ Barnes, Jason W.; Turtle, Elizabeth P.; Trainer, Melissa G.; Lorenz, Ralph (October 2017). Dragonfly: Exploring Titan's Surface with a New Frontiers Relocatable Lander. Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting Abstracts #49. American Astronomical Society. Bibcode:2017DPS....4921902B. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024.
  16. ↑ Renstrom, Joelle (27 December 2020). "NASA's Dragonfly Mission Will Seek Clues about Titan's Habitability" (Press release). NASA. Archived from the original on 27 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2021.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  17. ↑ Agle, DC; Johnson, Alana; Hautaluoma, Grey, eds. (19 February 2021). "NASA's Mars Helicopter Reports In" (Press release). JPL. 2021-036. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2021.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  18. ↑ Johnson, Alana; Hautaluoma, Grey; Agle, DC, eds. (19 April 2021). "NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Succeeds in Historic First Flight" (Press release). NASA. Archived from the original on 8 March 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lorenz, Ralph; Turtle, Elizabeth; Barnes, Jason; Trainer, Melissa; Adams, Douglas; Hibbard, Kenneth; Sheldon, Colin; Zacny, Kris; et al. "Dragonfly: A Rotorcraft Lander Concept for Scientific Exploration at Titan" (PDF). dragonfly.jhuapl.edu. Johns Hopkins University. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  20. ↑ PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain : Titan Explorer - Flagship Study Archived 1 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine NASA and APL January 2008
  21. 1 2 Post-Cassini Exploration of Titan: Science Rationale and Mission Concepts R. Lorenz, Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, 2000, Vol. 53, pages 218-234
  22. ↑ PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain : NIAC Phase 1 Final Study Report on Titan Aerial Daughtercraft Larry Matthies NASA/JPL 2014
  23. 1 2 PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain : Montgolfiere Aerobots for Titan Archived 22 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine Jack A. Jones and Jiunn Jenq Wu NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  24. ↑ Langelaan J. W. et al. (2017) Proc. Aerospace Conf. IEEE
  25. 1 2 Chang, Kenneth (20 November 2017). "Finalists in NASA's Spacecraft Sweepstakes: A Drone on Titan, and a Comet-Chaser". The New York Times.
  26. ↑ Clark, Stuart (21 December 2017). "Spacewatch: out-of-this-world drone with a Titanic task ahead". The Guardian.
  27. ↑ "NASA New Frontiers 5: Third Community Announcement". Science Mission Directorate . NASA. 24 August 2023. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  28. ↑ Foust, Jeff (25 September 2020). "NASA delays Dragonfly launch by a year". SpaceNews . Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  29. ↑ Talbert, Tricia (24 March 2023). "NASA's Dragonfly Team Soars through Major Design Review". NASA. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  30. ↑ Keeter, Bill (5 May 2017). "NASA Receives Proposals for Future Solar System Mission". NASA. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2017.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  31. ↑ "NASA's Dragonfly Rotorcraft Mission to Saturn's Moon Titan Confirmed". NASA . 16 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  32. ↑ Hörst, Sarah (22 July 2015). "What in the world(s) are tholins?". Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  33. ↑ "Tropical Methane Lakes on Saturn's Moon Titan". Saturn Today. 2012. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  34. ↑ New Images from the Huygens Probe: Shorelines and Channels, But an Apparently Dry Surface Archived 29 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine Emily Lakdawalla 15 January 2005 verified 28 March 2005
  35. ↑ Williams, Matt (25 August 2017). "Dragonfly Proposed to NASA as Daring New Frontiers Mission to Titan". Universe Today. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024.
  36. ↑ Kakaes, Konstantin (28 June 2019). "NASA announces plans to send a drone to explore Titan for signs of life". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  37. ↑ Robert Zubrin The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must p. 146, Simon & Schuster/Touchstone 1996 ISBN   978-0-684-83550-1
  38. ↑ "Performance of the Dragonfly Lander's Coaxial Rotor in Vortex Ring State" (PDF). NASA. NASA.
  39. ↑ "Designing Dragonfly, NASA's Titan explorer". Aerospace America. 30 September 2022.
  40. 1 2 3 Turtle, Elizabeth P. (2019). "The Dragonfly Mission to Titan: Exploration of an Ocean World". JHU Applied Physics Laboratory. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  41. ↑ PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain :Northon, Karen (27 June 2019). "NASA's Dragonfly Mission to Titan Will Look for Origins, Signs of Life". NASA. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  42. ↑ Foust, Jeff (3 May 2023). "Plutonium availability constrains plans for future planetary missions". SpaceNews. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  43. 1 2 3 4 PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain :Talbert, Tricia (26 December 2019). "Dragonfly Frequently Asked Questions". NASA. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  44. ↑ Lorenz, Ralph (15 June 2018). "Sampling Titan's Diverse surface with a (relocatable) Lander" (PDF). University of Colorado Boulder . Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  45. ↑ Stähler, Simon C.; Panning, Mark P.; Hadziioannou, Céline; Lorenz, Ralph D.; Vance, Steve; Klingbeil, Knut; Kedar, Sharon (15 August 2019). "Seismic signal from waves on Titan's seas". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 520: 250–259. arXiv: 1905.11251 . Bibcode:2019E&PSL.520..250S. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2019.05.043. ISSN   0012-821X. S2CID   166227976.
  46. ↑ "Eyes on Titan: Dragonfly Team Shapes Science Instrument Payload". Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  47. ↑ Aerospace engineers developing drone for NASA concept mission to Titan Chris Spallino PhysOrg 10 January 2018
  48. ↑ "NASA Authorizes Dragonfly Mission to Proceed with Estimated 2028 Launch Readiness Date". JHUAPL . 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  49. ↑ "Student Opportunities". JHUAPL . 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  50. ↑ Maria E. McQuaide; Donald H. Ellison; Jacob A. Englander; Mark C. Jesick; Martin T. Ozimek; Duane C. Roth. "Dragonfly Phase B Mission Design". researchgate.net. AAS 23-170 (reprint)
  51. ↑ Christopher J. Scott; Martin T. Ozimek; Douglas S. Adams; Ralph D. Lorenz; Shyam Bhaskaran; Rodica Ionasescu; Mark Jesick; Frank E. Laipert. "Preliminary Interplanetary Mission Design and Navigation for the Dragonfly New Frontiers Mission Concept". researchgate.net. AAS-18-416 (preprint)
  52. 1 2 3 4 PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain :Wright, Michael (8 July 2019). "The Dragonfly Entry and Descent System". ntrs.nasa.gov. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  53. 1 2 Impact craters on Titan Charles A. Wood, Ralph Lorenz, Randy Kirk, Rosaly Lopes, Karl Mitchell, Ellen Stofan, Icarus 206 (2010), 334–344 doi : 10.1016/j.icarus.2009.08.021
  54. ↑ Selection and Characteristics of the Dragonfly Landing Site near Selk Crater, Titan Planetary Science Journal 2, 24 (2021) doi : 10.3847/PSJ/abd08f
  55. 1 2 "Geology of the Selk crater region on Titan from Cassini VIMS observations" J.M. Soderblom, R.H. Brown, L.A. Soderblom, J.W. Barnes, R. Jaumann, Stéphane Le Mouélic, Christophe Sotin, K. Stephan, K.H. Baines, B.J. Buratti, R.N. Clark, and P.D. Nicholson; Icarus Volume 208, Issue 2, August 2010, Pages 905-912 doi : 10.1016/j.icarus.2010.03.001
  56. ↑ Selk Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature Accessed on 29 June 2019
  57. ↑ "Crater topography on Titan: Implications for landscape evolution", C. D. Neish, R.L. Kirk, R. D. Lorenz, V. J. Bray, P. Schenk, B. W. Stiles, E. Turtle, K. Mitchell, A. Hayes, Icarus, 223 (2013) doi : 10.1016/j.icarus.2012.11.030
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.