NASA postponed the launch of the dragonfly for about a year and is expected to complete the launch in 2027. It is reported that the dragonfly is planned to be launched to the Saturn’s moon Titan.
This plan is called Frontiers new field task to explore biochemistry that may be related to the evolution of organic life. This plan was not postponed for the first time. The original plan was to launch the DragonFly probe on 2025, which was postponed due to “external” factors. As the first unmanned aerial vehicle to detect extraterrestrial planets in human history, Dragonfly will arrive at Titan after about 8 years of flight.
One of the reasons for choosing Titan is its atmosphere. Scientists think it is very similar to the early situation on our planet. There are also some liquid methane ethane rivers, which are the only rivers in the solar system except the Earth. The mission will cover about 175 kilometers (almost twice the travel coverage of all Mars detectors so far).
There is no denying that this is an ambitious project. This will also be NASA’s first multi-rotor scientific aircraft on another celestial body, and the first aircraft to carry all its scientific payload between multiple regions. The unmanned aerial vehicle will spend 9 years on carrying out relatively regular tasks, collecting samples, studying the habitability of Titan and its development in key craters.
The acquisition of research results may take a longer period. If the project progresses smoothly, Dragonfly may provide more assistance for the Study of the viability of mysterious moon and life outside the Earth.
