A project envisioned by a University of Idaho researcher has been selected by NASA for launch.
The mission, known as Dragonfly, plans to launch a robotic robocraft lander to Saturn’s moon Titan. The $850 million project involves 35 scientists from around the world led by Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and beat 11 other teams to win NASA’s New Frontiers Program competition.
U of I Associate Professor Jason Barnes is a founding member and deputy principal investigator of the Dragonfly project. The spacecraft, named for its insect shape, is a dual qaudcopter with eight rotors designed to fly from site to site on the alien moon, potentially traveling tens of kilometers at a time. It is set to launch in 2025 and arrive at Titan in December of 2034. Its primary mission lasts two years.
Along with Earth, Venus, and Mars, Titan is among the only places in our solar system with substantive atmospheres and solid surfaces. The moon’s dense atmosphere makes flying easier than on earth.
Barnes said the design of the quadcopter allows researchers to answer questions that would be difficult when using a rolling rover or a stationary probe.
Throughout its mission, the quadcopter will be able to sample and analyze the icy crust, the hydrocarbon sands and the atmosphere; take meteorological measurements; photograph the landscape; and record any seismic activity. (KXLY)
